Dr. T. Ombrello - UCC Biology Department

JOJOBA and the Sperm Whale

Common names: Jojoba, Goat Nut, Coffeeberry

Scientific name: Simmondsia chinensis

Explanation of scientific name:

Simmondsia - Named for T. W. Simmonds (? – 1805), a botanist and explorer who accompanied Lord Seaforth to the West Indies.

chinensis - Of China. Johann Heinrich Fredrich Link (1767-1851), a German botanist, is responsible for choosing this misleading species epithet. During his worldwide plant collecting travels, he accidentally mixed Jojoba seeds with seeds of plants he collected in China. He then incorrectly used the word chinensis in the plant’s scientific name. Since the rules of botanical nomenclature give preference to the first scientific name used to describe a newly discovered species the name is not changed, even though it is clearly the result of a mistake. Jojoba is native only to North America.

Jojoba (pronounced ho-ho-ba) is a common but, up until recently, unappreciated evergreen shrub growing in the arid regions of northern Mexico and the southwestern US. Unspectacular in appearance, Jojoba plants grow to 15 feet in height, with leathery, blue-green leaves about one inch in length. Female Jojobas produce oval fruits that open at maturity to reveal 1 – 3 brown, peanut-sized seeds. The plants can live for 200 years.

Jojoba began receiving serious attention in the early 1970’s, with the enactment of the Endangered Species Act. The Sperm Whale, considered an endangered species under the parameters set up by this Act, became protected to the extent that no sperm whale oil could be imported into the US. Up until then we had been importing 55 million gallons of the oil each year. Sperm whale oil is currently stockpiled, for use in national emergencies. The head of the Sperm Whale contains vast quantities of sperm oil (actually an unsaturated wax) and a solid white wax called spermaceti. The Sperm Whale’s blubber contains ever more sperm oil. A large Sperm Whale can yield several tons of the oil and the wax.

Without the Sperm Whale as a source of these materials, a search for substitutes began. Synthetic substitutes are difficult to produce, so other natural sources were investigated. A fish known as the Orange Roughy makes a similar oil, but it has been so overfished that it could not be counted on as a long term solution. The Jojoba plant was considered too. People have been using Jojoba for a long time. Early Spanish explorers found Native Americans roasting the seeds for a coffee-like beverage, and observed them squeezing oil from the seeds for use as a hair dressing and medicine. Mexican historian Francisco Clavijero was the first person to write about the species in 1789, and used the word “Jojoba”. It probably is a corruption of the Native peoples’ name for the plant. It has been known since 1933 that its seeds contain an oil (50% by weight) almost identical in chemical composition to sperm whale oil. Prior to the Endangered Species Act, however, it was more economical to get the oil from the Sperm Whale. Interestingly, we did look at Jojoba as a source of oil earlier. Experimental plantings were established at the Boyce Thompson Southwestern Arboretum in Superior Arizona in 1925, and Jojoba oil was used during WW II in motors and transmissions for military equipment. After the war ended, petroleum became plentiful, and Jojoba oil use declined. Jojoba is the only plant known to produce this oil, composed of fatty alcohols and fatty acids instead of glycerol and fatty acids like most oils.

Today there are an amazing number of potential uses for Jojoba oil. They include: cosmetics, lubricants for everything from artificial hearts to watches, motors, and transmissions, low-calorie cooking oil that does not become rancid, antifoaming agents in fermentation, candle wax, polishes, coatings for fruits and pills, insulation for batteries and wires, varnishes and paints, detergents, plastics and resins, leather softeners, transformer coolants, and more.

Despite all these potential uses, almost all the Jojoba oil produced goes to the cosmetics industry for use in lotions and shampoos. At hundreds of dollars per gallon, few other uses are economically feasible. In fact, even the cosmetic industry uses other natural oils and petroleum products as substitutes for Jojoba oil. Petroleum is very inexpensive by comparison. Many believe that if the price of Jojoba oil would drop, many new markets for it would open.

Why is Jojoba oil so expensive? Collecting the seeds from wild stands is very time consuming, and the harvest is unreliable from year to year. The commercial growing of Jojoba began in earnest in the 1970's. Native Americans (Apaches, with Federal subsidies) and traditional farmers started the first Jojoba plantations. But, get-rich-quick schemes attracted a wide assortment of individuals into the Jojoba growing business. Most efforts failed, and that put a damper on the whole industry. There were several reasons for the failures in what could have been a successful industry. There was limited information on the cultivation techniques necessary to make large-scale plantations profitable. Insect and disease control, fertilization and irrigation needs, harvesting strategies and frost damage prevention had to be learned on a trial and error basis as the crop grew. The single most limiting factor, however, was the low yield of Jojoba plants grown from seeds collected from wild stands of the species. There were no cultivars selected for agricultural production available to those early growers. A bit of Jojoba botany will illustrate the problem. Jojoba shrubs are dioecious, meaning there are male and female plants. Breeding and selecting superior male plants (that produce abundant pollen) and superior female plants (that produce abundant seeds) has been a slow process. Once superior plants are identified, they can be cloned by vegetative propagation and planted on a large scale. A field ratio of one cloned male for every 10-20 cloned females would significantly increase the yield as compared to a seed grown field with a male to female ratio of 1:1. An improved yield could earn more profits for the growers, and reduce the cost of the oil for the buyers. There is still a dire need for research on crop production and improvement. There is some activity in this area at the University of Arizona in Tucson, and the University of California at Riverside.

Jojoba oil production is nevertheless increasing. In the 1970’s, several thousand acres were being cultivated in the US. In the 1980’s, 25,000 acres were being grown. In the 1990’s that increased to 40,000 acres, and today it approaches 50,000 acres. As the oil has found markets outside of the US, including Europe, Asia, and Australia, foreign production has begun.

Jojoba is now commercially grown in Argentina, Australia, Mexico, Israel, and India.

Biotechnology may offer a way to produce Jojoba oil in other plants at competitive prices. The genes that code for the enzymes involved in Jojoba oil biosynthesis have been identified and inserted into transgenic plants. The intention is to develop Jojoba oil producing plants that can easily be grown in conventional agricultural systems. Time will tell if this will be practical.

The Jojoba story is far from over. It may just be in its infancy. The plant’s versatile oil can be produced in a sustainable, renewable, and environmentally friendly manner. There are many potential markets for it that have yet to be developed. As our ability to produce it becomes more efficient, we will undoubtedly hear more about Jojoba. One wonders how many other plants in nature, currently overlooked, may be important to us in the future.