The babassu palm Orbygnia species

Babassu oil has intermittently been an item of international commerce, trade statistics indicating volumes of 10000-20000 tonnes however, the low proportion of kernels in the fruit and the extreme hardness of the shell have been major obstacles to efficient exploitation. It is considered that productivity would be greatly increased at lower plant densities than those found naturally. The kernel oil has a chemical composition intermediate between coconut and palm kernel oils and similar physical behaviour. Pollitt (1977) concluded that babassu oil would be a suitable alternative to these oils in a number of food applications. 

Fatty acid Commercial sample Urucuia Jequitai Bonito Januaria O. Cohune  

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