Avocado, as it is called “persea americana” in Latin name, is originated from Mexico, Central or South America and is first cultivated in Mexico. In 1871, Avocado trees were first introduced to United States, in California. Nowadays, in California and around the world, most popular varieties of avocado are Bacon, Fuerte, Hass, Gwen, Pinkerton, Reed and Zutano. Avocado is agricultured in many tropical, subtropical and mediterranean regions including Turkey and you can easily see the list of countries and their production volumes in wikipedia.

High oil content of Avocado fruits has always been well-known because its fruits are like vegetable butter. Despite the oil content vary due to the cultivar type of avocado, age of the tree or the climate where it is grown, avocado fruit oil consists of Linoleic acid, Linolenic acid and Oleic acid and these healthy fatty acids are precursors of EPA (eicosapentaenoic acid), arachidonic acid which are part of the cell membrane phospholipids and these three crucial fatty acids also serve as substrate for the synthesis of inflammatory mediators such as prostaglandins.

Although the avocado is known as a rich source of healthy fatty acids and omega’s, there has been far less attention given to its content of other bioactive substances such as beta-carotene, lecithin, xantines, minerals like magnesium, potassium and vitamins A, C, D and E which might contribute to cancer prevention.

Health benefits of avocados include potential prevention of heart diseases and prevention of osteoporosis all because of the rich content of antioxidant molecules, limiting the damage of oxygen radicals in human body tissues. Furthermore, avocado oil has a proven effect as a natural sunscreen.