Prunus amygdalus dulcis, commonly known as the sweet almond, is a variety of almond tree cultivated for its edible seeds or nuts. Native to the Middle East and South Asia, the tree is now widely grown in temperate regions around the world. It produces small, pink or white flowers in the spring, which develop into fruit containing a hard shell with the almond seed inside. Sweet almonds are prized for their flavor, nutritional benefits, and versatile applications in food, cosmetics, and medicine.

Botanical Classification

• Kingdom: Plantae
• Order: Rosales
• Family: Rosaceae
• Genus: Prunus
• Species: P. amygdalus
• Variety: P. amygdalus dulcis

Plant Characteristics

Prunus amygdalus dulcis is a deciduous tree that can grow up to 10 meters (32 feet) in height. It has oval, serrated leaves and produces clusters of small, fragrant flowers in shades of pink or white. The fruit is a drupe with a hard, woody shell that encases the edible seed, known as the almond. The tree requires a temperate climate with cold winters and warm, dry summers to produce high-quality nuts.

Chemical Composition and Structure

Sweet almonds contain several beneficial compounds:

• Fatty Acids: Rich in monounsaturated fats, particularly oleic acid, which supports cardiovascular health.
• Vitamins: Includes vitamin E, a powerful antioxidant, and B vitamins such as riboflavin and niacin.
• Minerals: Contains calcium, magnesium, and potassium, essential for bone health and muscle function.
• Proteins and Fiber: Provides a good source of protein and dietary fiber.

Cultivation

Prunus amygdalus dulcis thrives in well-drained, sandy loam soils and requires full sun exposure. It is propagated from seeds or cuttings and benefits from regular watering, especially during dry periods. The tree is typically pruned to maintain shape and enhance fruit production. It is sensitive to frost, so proper protection is necessary in colder climates.

Uses and Benefits

• Culinary: Almonds are used in a wide range of culinary applications, including baking, cooking, and as a snack. Almond oil is used in cooking and as a flavoring in various products.

• Medicinal: Almonds are valued for their nutritional content and are used in traditional medicine for their benefits to heart health, skin health, and digestive system. Almond oil is used for its soothing and moisturizing properties.

• Cosmetic: Almond oil is a common ingredient in skincare products due to its moisturizing and emollient properties. It is used in creams, lotions, and hair care products.

INCI Functions:

Skin conditioning agent. It is the mainstay of topical skin treatment as it has the function of restoring, increasing or improving skin tolerance to external factors, including melanocyte tolerance. The most important function of the conditioning agent is to prevent skin dehydration, but the subject is rather complex and involves emollients and humectants that can be added in the formulation.

Hair conditioning agent. A significant number of ingredients with specific and targeted purposes may co-exist in hair shampoo formulations: cleansers, conditioners, thickeners, matting agents, sequestering agents, fragrances, preservatives, special additives. However, the indispensable ingredients are the cleansers and conditioners as they are necessary and sufficient for hair cleansing and manageability. The others act as commercial and non-essential auxiliaries such as: appearance, fragrance, colouring, etc. Hair conditioning agents have the task of increasing shine, manageability and volume, and reducing static electricity, especially after treatments such as colouring, ironing, waving, drying and brushing. They are, in practice, dispersants that may contain cationic surfactants, thickeners, emollients, polymers. The typology of hair conditioning agents includes: intensive conditioners, instant conditioners, thickening conditioners, drying conditioners. They can perform their task generally accompanied by other different ingredients.

Skin protectant. It creates a protective barrier on the skin to defend it from harmful substances, irritants, allergens, pathogens that can cause various inflammatory conditions. These products can also improve the natural skin barrier and in most cases more than one is needed to achieve an effective result.

Humectant. Hygroscopic compound used to minimise water loss in the skin and to prevent it from drying out by facilitating faster and greater absorption of water into the stratum corneum of the epidermis. The epidermis is the most superficial of the three layers that make up human skin (epidermis, dermis and hypodermis) and is the layer that maintains hydration in all three layers. In turn, the epidermis is composed of five layers: horny, the most superficial, granular, spinous, shiny, and basal. Humectants have the ability to retain the water they attract from the air in the stratum corneum and have the function of moisturising the skin. They are best used before emollients, which are oil-based.

Applications

• Culinary: Incorporated into recipes for baked goods, confectioneries, and savory dishes. Used as a snack and in almond-based beverages like almond milk.

• Medicinal: Included in dietary supplements and remedies for cardiovascular health, skin care, and digestive health.

Environmental and Safety Considerations

Prunus amygdalus dulcis is generally safe for consumption and use in cosmetics. However, care should be taken to avoid the consumption of bitter almonds, which contain cyanogenic compounds. Sustainable cultivation practices should be employed to minimize environmental impact and ensure the health of almond trees.

Studies

The sweet almond is rich in monounsaturated fats, fiber, magnesium.
Its components can regulate the homeostasis of glucose. It is hypocholesterolemic (1), has an antioxidant action (2) and is an adjuvant for cardiovascular risks (3).

This study found a statistically significant association between high frequency of peanuts, pine nuts, and almonds consumption and reduced risk of colorectal cancer (4).

From the sweet almond you get :

• almond milk. Energy drink
• almond oil. Soothing and anti-itching

For a rather common industrial by-product of almonds, almond milk, especially sweetened versions, care must be taken because they have a cariogenic potential (5).

While the sweet almond has many beneficial properties for human health, the bitter almond is toxic: even at relatively small doses as 5 or 6 are sufficient to cause poisoning. It can be fatal at higher doses. The bitter taste, connected to a component, the amygdalin, fortunately, discourages from ingestion.

The bitter almond is obtained after purification of the hydrocyanic acid it contains:

• almond oil. Used in cosmetics for skin care
• almond butter. Used in skin care cosmetics
• almond extract Used for shampooing and cosmetics.

This study reviews and comments on almond clinical trials with particular reference to biomarkers of health and the gut micrtobiota (6).

Almond studies

References__________________________________________________________________

(1) Kamil A, Chen CY.  Health Benefits of Almonds beyond Cholesterol Reduction.   J Agric Food Chem. 2012 Feb 17. J Agric Food Chem. 2012 Jul 11;60(27):6694-702. doi: 10.1021/jf2044795.

Abstract. Almonds are rich in monounsaturated fat, fiber, α-tocopherol, minerals such as magnesium and copper, and phytonutrients, albeit being energy-dense. The favorable fat composition and fiber contribute to the hypocholesterolemic benefit of almond consumption. By virtue of their unique nutrient composition, almonds are likely to benefit other modifiable cardiovascular and diabetes risks, such as body weight, glucose homeostasis, inflammation, and oxidative stress. This paper briefly reviews the nutrient composition and hypocholesterolemic benefits; the effects of almond consumption on body weight, glucose regulation, oxidative stress, and inflammation, based on the data of clinical trials, will then be discussed. Although more studies are definitely warranted, the emerging evidence supports that almond consumption beneficially influences chronic degenerative disease risk beyond cholesterol reduction, particularly in populations with metabolic syndrome and type 2 diabetes mellitus.

(2) Barreira JC, Ferreira IC, Oliveira MB, Pereira JA. Antioxidant potential of chestnut (Castanea sativa L.) and almond (Prunus dulcis L.) by-products.    Food Sci Technol Int. 2010 Jun;16(3):209-16. doi: 10.1177/1082013209353983. 

Abstract. The antioxidant properties of almond green husks (Cvs. Duro Italiano, Ferraduel, Ferranhês, Ferrastar and Orelha de Mula), chestnut skins and chestnut leaves (Cvs. Aveleira, Boa Ventura, Judia and Longal) were evaluated through several chemical and biochemical assays in order to provide a novel strategy to stimulate the application of waste products as new suppliers of useful bioactive compounds, namely antioxidants. All the assayed by-products revealed good antioxidant properties, with very low EC(50) values (lower than 380 μg/mL), particularly for lipid peroxidation inhibition (lower than 140 μg/mL). The total phenols and flavonoids contents were also determined. The correlation between these bioactive compounds and DPPH (2,2-diphenyl-1-picrylhydrazyl) radical scavenging activity, reducing power, inhibition of β-carotene bleaching and inhibition of lipid peroxidation in pig brain tissue through formation of thiobarbituric acid reactive substances, was also obtained. Although, all the assayed by-products proved to have a high potential of application in new antioxidants formulations, chestnut skins and leaves demonstrated better results.

(3) Lairon D. Intervention studies on Mediterranean diet and cardiovascular risk. Mol Nutr Food Res. 2007 Oct;51(10):1209-14. doi: 10.1002/mnfr.200700097. PMID: 17879996.

Abstract. The traditional Mediterranean diet, as studied in the 1950s to 1960s in the South of Europe, is characterized by moderate energy intake, low animal fat, high olive oil, high cereals, high legumes, nuts and vegetables, and regular and moderate wine. A Mediterranean-type diet is being developed to mimic the traditional one and fit with present life style. While numerous epidemiological studies have supported the concept that adherence to the traditional Mediterranean diet is beneficial for health and particularly protects against cardiovascular disease, the limited number of intervention studies in this field have not yet provided major support. Nevertheless, the dietary interventions performed until now have demonstrated that adoption of a Mediterranean-type diet reduces several cardiovascular risk factors in subjects at risk (primary prevention) and/or cardiovascular events or mortality in patients after a first cardiac event (secondary prevention). Among numerous foodstuffs characterizing the Mediterranean diet, virgin olive oil has been shown to display beneficial effects on a wide range of risk factors.

(4) Lee J, Shin A, Oh JH, Kim J. The relationship between nut intake and risk of colorectal cancer: a case control study.    Nutr J. 2018 Mar 7;17(1):37. doi: 10.1186/s12937-018-0345-y.

Abstract. Background: Nut consumption is known to reduce the risk of obesity, diabetes mellitus, and cardiovascular disease. However, in previous studies, portion sizes and categories of nut consumption have varied, and few studies have assessed the association between colorectal cancer risk and nut consumption. In this study, we investigated the relationship between nut consumption and colorectal cancer risk. Methods: A case-control study was conducted among 923 colorectal cancer patients and 1846 controls recruited from the National Cancer Center in Korea. Information on dietary intake was collected using a semi-quantitative food frequency questionnaire with 106 items, including peanuts, pine nuts, and almonds (as 1 food item). Nut consumption was categorized as none, < 1 serving per week, 1-3 servings per week, and ≥3 servings per week. A binary logistic regression model was used to estimate odds ratios (OR) and their 95% confidence intervals (CI) for the association between nut consumption and colorectal cancer risk, and a polytomous logistic regression model was used for sub-site analyses. Results: High nut consumption was strongly associated with reduced risk of colorectal cancer among women (adjusted ORs: 0.30, 95%CI: 0.15-0.60 for the ≥3 servings per week group vs. none). A similar inverse association was observed for men (adjusted ORs: 0.28, 95% CI: 0.17-0.47). In sub-site analyses, adjusted ORs (95% CIs) comparing the ≥3 servings per week group vs none were 0.25 (0.09-0.70) for proximal colon cancer, 0.39 (0.19-0.80) for distal colon cancer, and 0.23 (0.12-0.46) for rectal cancer among men. An inverse association was also found among women for distal colon cancer (OR: 0.13, 95% CI: 0.04-0.48) and rectal cancer (OR: 0.40, 95% CI: 0.17-0.95). Conclusions: We found a statistically significant association between high frequency of nut consumption and reduced risk of colorectal cancer. This association was observed for all sub-sites of the colon and rectum among both men and women, with the exception of proximal colon cancer for women.

(5) Lee J, Townsend JA, Thompson T, Garitty T, De A, Yu Q, Peters BM, Wen ZT. Analysis of the Cariogenic Potential of Various Almond Milk Beverages using a Streptococcus mutans Biofilm Model in vitro.    Caries Res. 2018;52(1-2):51-57. doi: 10.1159/000479936.