The characterization of Argan oils to classify them in three categories ('Extra Virgin', 'Virgin' and 'Lower quality') was evaluated. A total of 120 Moroccan Argan oils samples from the Taroudant Argan forest was investigated. The free acidity, peroxide value, spectrophotometric indices (K232 and K270), fatty acids, sterols, and tocopherol contents were assessed. The samples were also scanned by FTIR spectroscopy. The Principal Component Analysis (PCA) and four classification methods, Partial Least Squares Discriminant Analysis (PLS-DA), Soft Independent Modelling of Class Analogy (SIMCA), K-nearest Neighbors (KNN), and Support Vector Machines (SVM), were applied on both the chemical and spectral data. Besides the conventional chemical profiling, FTIR spectra were evaluated for their feasibility as a rapid non-invasive approach for classifying and predicting the oil quality categories. The most important variables for differentiating the oil categories were identified as K₂₃₂, peroxide value, ɣ-tocopherol, δ-tocopherol, acidity, stigma-8-22-dien-3β-ol, stearic acid (C_18:0) and linoleic acid (C_18:2) and could be used as quality indicators. Eight chemical descriptors or key features from the FTIR spectra (selected by interval-PLS) could also be established as indicators of quality and freshness of Argan oils.

The Argan tree (Argania spinosa. L) is an evergreen tree endemic of southwestern Morocco. For centuries, various formulations have been used to treat several illnesses including diabetes. However, scientific results supporting these actions are needed. Hence, Argan fruit products (i.e., cake byproducts (saponins extract) and hand pressed Argan oil) were tested for their in-vitro anti-hyperglycemic activity, using α-glucosidase and α-amylase assays. The in-vivo anti-hyperglycemic activity was evaluated in a model of alloxan-induced diabetic mice. The diabetic animals were orally administered 100 mg/kg body weight of aqueous saponins cake extract and 3 mL/kg of Argan oil, respectively, to evaluate the anti-hyperglycemic effect. The blood glucose concentration and body weight of the experimental animals were monitored for 30 days. The chemical properties and composition of the Argan oil were assessed including acidity, peroxides, K232, K270, fatty acids, sterols, tocopherols, total polyphenols, and phenolic compounds. The saponins cake extract produced a significant reduction in blood glucose concentration in diabetic mice, which was better than the Argan oil. This decrease was equivalent to that detected in mice treated with metformin after 2–4 weeks. Moreover, the saponins cake extract showed a strong inhibitory action on α-amylase and α-glucosidase, which is also higher than that of Argan oil.