Do you like eating avocados? What do you do with the big seed though? Did you know it's something you don't need to throw away?
Aside from having important nutrients, the seeds can be used for art or fashion and the industrial world.
Here are several amazing things the avocado stones can provide!
(Photo credit: ArtGirl via Bitlanders)
♦ Important Nutrients! ♦
March 2016 gave rise to the avocado pit eating fad. It started from a viral Facebook video showing how we can prepare the seed for consumption. Naturally people got curious and intrigued, asking if it is indeed edible or if it is healthy for us. People began claiming it as a superfood thus plenty of online articles popped up sharing recipes and such.
(Video credit: iusetime via YouTube)
The growing demand has rapidly increased the global production of avocados over the years. Of course the seed and peel waste increased too but what are we doing to make use of those? If you're a curious person, you will wonder the same thing. Curiosity has led to some people eating the pit, including me. Lol.
♦ What you need to know before attempting to eat it:
- The raw or cooked seed is terribly bitter. It has tannin which causes the avocado to turn brown or reddish when exposed to air. It also gives the stone the bad taste.
- Dry the avocado pit first before attempting to consume it. The bitterness is said to disappear once it's all dried up.
(Photo credit via Pixabay)
Once dry, you can then pound or grind it. If you do either, you can make an extract or simply add to food or drinks.
Why do people consume it? For its health benefits. Avocado and nutrition experts agree however that the seed is not meant to be consumed at all. It is used in folk medicine but further studies should be done before it can be officially recommended as food.
♦ What are the Avocado Seed Nutrients?
Here's some information on what makes the seed a supposed superfood.
Avocado seed varieties, from freshest to driest too. (Photo credit: ArtGirl via Bitlanders)
The avocado stone composition changes depending on the season, tree variety or even location. It's mostly made of starch and is rich in Potassium. Trace amounts of Calcium and Magnesium are present too. The pit also contains important saturated and unsaturated fatty acids that keep our bodies functioning well.
Studies made on the avocado seed extract found many nutrients in it including Protein, Vitamin C and of course, Carbohydrates. Important good health compounds like Flavonoids, Saponins and Tannins are also present. (I'm sure body builders and health buffs are familiar with those three.) On top of that, the antioxidants in the resulting liquid were found to be an effective alternative food preservative.
What about the powder form you say? Some scientists and researchers did experiments on the avocado seed flour. One group used it to make cookies and another one made candies! Whoa.
(Photo credit via Pixabay)
Turns out it's not good to use the seed powder purely to make bread or cookies but it is okay for making candies. Healthy avocado pit candies anyone? Lol.
♦ Art and Fashion Materials ♦
Oh look, we can use the seeds to make art and such too! Our first thought when it comes to avocado pits is that it's just useless, right? Well, let's think again. Anyone artistic and creative can make use of the seed to make sculptures or accessories and even jewelry.
Some people carve the stone while it's fresh, others wait 'til it's a bit dry. It takes skill and plenty of sculpting practice to eventually come up with amazing sculptures and rings or pendants. I'm sure it will be worth it if you can eventually come up with something like this.
(Photo credit: Jan Campbell via Blazepress)
The artist started carving on seeds in 2014. Look at her work now. I also tried sculpting the seeds few months ago. What I created looked ugly and it's already moldy. Haha. Just like doing other things, one has to keep working at it to be an expert.
For jewelry, you can embed precious stones in it. As it dries, the seed will shrink and hold the gem in. :) Or simply make a pendant out of it instead. That's fine too.
If you'd rather paint or do calligraphy then this is for you: Use the seed as a natural ink/paint source. The Conquistadors are said to have used the stone's milky substance as ink for their documents. You now know that tannin can turn to red, orange or brown right? Hehe.
(Photo credit via Pixabay)
Anyway, I don't have the exact formula but some online experiments said to use the powder form. It must first be boiled in vinegar, some alcohol and agar-based solution. Then strain the liquid using a cheese cloth once cooled.
Other than that just use it as a dye. Chop up the fresh stone then boil it. You can even ferment it to get the color out. The resulting liquid can dye anything from cloth to yarn, etc.
I did my little experiments on the pit 2 months ago. Yes, I boiled it too and the water did turn up as red purplish. If only boiling the avocado seed can separate the color eh?
(Photo credit via Pixabay)
It takes scientists to truly be able to separate the compounds in the seed and make a natural food coloring business out of it. I wonder how they extracted the orange colorant. Lol.
♦ Commercial and Industrial Products ♦
Surprise surprise! The avocado stones can also be used to make rodent poison, water filters and plasticizers among other things.
♦ Poison!
If you grind the seed and add some cheese or cornmeal to it, rejoice! You now have an alternative rodent killer! The 50-50 mix can kill mice as fast as 2 to 3 days if they consume ten to twelve grams per day.
(Photo credit via Pixabay)
Based on an experiment, it can also take up to 2 weeks. It really depends on the avocado variety, quantity eaten and the mix ratio.
Tannin not only causes coloration, it can also poison pets and some animals. The substance is believed to be part of the avocado's self-preservation feature. It's not dangerous for humans though that's why some people eat it.
♦ Medical and Industrial Resource
The most unappreciated part of the avocado fruit is the seed husk. Did you know that the seed covering has many important substances in it too? Several scientists found out about this at a US university. They even did a press con. Watch below! (If the video doesn't show, use your mobile browser.)
(Video credit: American Chemical Society via YouTube)
Some compounds present in it are good for humans and then of course there's the plasticizer. Most notable are the three substances mentioned: Docosanol, Butylated hydroxytoluene and Benzyl butyl phthalate.
The first one can lower our heart disease risk. Second is an antioxidant that can be used as a food preservative. The last one is usually used for products like artificial leather or vinyl flooring. Phthalate is toxic thus it is believed it protects the seed from infection.
♦ Water Filter
Yes, the seed can also be used for water treatment. It can be made into Granular Activated Carbon (GAC). These things are used to filter and clean drinking water or aquariums etc. It can also remove chemicals in the air. Some experiments note phenol, ammonium, dye or lead removal.
(Photo credit: Ravedave via Wikipedia)
In 2015, a prestigious Kenyan University research found it to be a more affordable alternative to commercial GACs. They discovered avocado seed GACs can adsorb heavy metals and agricultural wastes when applied to the affected environment.
Experiments were done in Spain in 2017 also concluded that it is indeed a useful raw material for waste adsorption. Why anyone isn't calling out to buy or collect these wasted seeds is a mystery.
♦ Bioplastic
Last but not the least, the avocado seeds can be made into bioplastics!!! It's waste that can help save our world from dangerous plastic pollution! Who knew?
According to Wikipedia:
Bioplastics are plastics derived from renewable biomass sources, such as vegetable fats and oils, corn starch, or microbiota. Bioplastic can be made from agricultural by-products...
Mexico is the top producer of Avocado fruits. The tree is a native Mexican plant so no wonder a company making bioplastics sprang from there. They've been making bioplastics since 2012.
I believe the seeds can be easily sourced from restaurants, other commercial establishments or the public. This makes it a cheaper alternative resource material for bioplastics. That company can even make spoons, forks and more out of it. Cool!
(Photo credit via Pixabay)
This usefulness was corroborated by an Indonesian University research in 2015. They were able to make bioplastics out of the fruit stones too. This means it can definitely be done by anyone who wants to save the world. One can indeed earn from someone else's trash and still help our planet.
* * * * * * * * * *
To sum it up, Avocado seeds can be made into the following:
- baked goods ingredient
- candy or sweets
- sculptures
- fashion accessories
- ink
- dye
- food coloring
- mouse poison and various important chemicals
- GACs
- Bioplastic
Amazing right? What do you think about avocado seeds now? Feel free to share in the comments. :D
For more of my environmental or nature related blogs, click below:
- Welcome to ArtGirl's Palm Nuts Exploration Article!
- The Most Exciting and Other Effective Ways to Get Rid of House Roaches
- Avocado Seed: Should You Eat It or Not?
- Oil Cleansing is a Gentler Facial Alternative >>> 5 star blog!
- The Importance of Sea Cucumbers
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