Tamanu oil is pressed from nuts of either Calophyllum inophyllum (usually) or Calophyllum tacamahaca (ati), tropical trees belonging to the Calophyllaceae family. The oil originates in Polynesia, where it continues to play an important cultural role.[citation needed]

Tamanu fruit
The fruit of the tamanu tree

Commercial uses of tamanu oil are predominantly for skin care. The oil has value and use as a fuel. Calophyllum inophyllum oil (CIO) is rich in antioxidants and contains UV-absorption properties.[1]

Other names

edit

It is also called beauty leaf oil, calophyllum inophyllum seed oil, calophyllum inophyllum oil, kamani oil, calophyllum oil, calophyllum inophyllum essential oil, dilo oil, foraha oil, Alexandrian laurel oil, poon oil, nyamplung oil, domba oil, honne oil (Honge is used as biodiesel), undi oil, pinnai oil, fetau oil, punnai oil, daok oil, pinnay oil, kamanu oil, bitaog oil, tamanu nut oil, punna oil, takamaka oil (ambiguous), laurelwood oil (ambiguous), tacamahac oil (ambiguous), punnaga oil, fetaʻu oil, palo maria oil, ballnut tree oil, ballnut oil, btaches oil, beach calophyllum oil, or mù u oil.

Production

edit

Harvest of fruits

edit
 
Tree

Fruiting takes place twice a year, in May and November. When ripe, the fruit is wrinkled and its color varies from yellow to brownish-red. Ripe and fallen fruits are collected from the bottom of the tree, by beating the limbs with a long hand stick, or hand-picked by climbing the tree.

A tamanu fruit produces a single large seed. The seed consists of a kernel 1.5 cm in diameter and enclosed in a soft- and a hard seed coat. It is 43–52% of the weight of the whole dry fruit, about 4 g. Fresh kernels contain 55–73% oil and 25% moisture;[2] the oil content increases to 70–75% when dry.[3][4]: 342 

Seed processing and extraction

edit

The seeds are decorticated by wooden mallets or by decorticators or by pressing under planks. Usually, the kernels are pressed in wooden and stone ghani.[2]

Uses

edit

The first neoflavone isolated in 1951 from natural sources was calophyllolide from C. inophyllum seeds.[5]

The fatty acid methyl esters derived from C. inophyllum seed oil meet the major biodiesel requirements in the United States (ASTM D 6751), and European Union (EN 14214). The average oil yield is 11.7 kg-oil/tree or 4680 kg-oil/hectare. In the northwest coastal areas of Luzon island in the Philippines, the oil was used for night lamps.[6] This widespread use started to decline when kerosene, and later electricity, became available. It was also used as fuel to generate electricity to power radios during World War II. A farmer in Nagappattinam district of Tamil Nadu, India, has successfully used the oil as biodiesel to run his 5-hp pumpset.[7]

In Southern India, the oil may have been useful in waterproofing cloth and is used as a varnish. An extract from the fruit was once used to make a brown dye to colour cloth. The oil can also be used to make soap.[8]

Properties and fatty acids

edit

The oil is bluish-yellow to dark green and very viscous. It has a disagreeable taste and odour as it contains some resinous material that can easily be removed by refining. The concentration of resinous substances in the oil varies from 10 to 30%.[9] The main compounds of the seed oil are oleic-, linoleic-, stearic- and palmitic acids.

Physical characteristics[2]

physical character Range
Refractive index 30 °C 1.460-1.470
Iodine value 79-98
Saponification value 190-205
Unsaponifiable matter 1.5%, maximum
Acid value 20-40
Moisture 0.5%, maximum

Fatty acids present in oil[citation needed]

Fatty acid Percentage
Palmitic acid 14.8-18.5
Stearic acid 6.0-9.0
Oleic acid 36-53
Linoleic acid 16-29
Erucic acid 2.5-3.5

Another source[citation needed] says the oil contains the following fatty acids:

Fatty acid Content
Linoleic acid 38%
Oleic acid 34%
Stearic acid 13%
Palmitic acid 12%

Other components include calophyllolide, friedelin, inophyllums B and P, terpenic essences, benzoic and oxibenzoic acids, phospho-amino lipids, glycerides, saturated fatty acids, and 4-phenylcoumarins.[10]

References

edit
  1. ^ Léguillier, Teddy; Lecsö-Bornet, Marylin; Lémus, Christelle; Rousseau-Ralliard, Delphine; Lebouvier, Nicolas; Hnawia, Edouard; Nour, Mohammed; Aalbersberg, William; Ghazi, Kamelia; Raharivelomanana, Phila; Rat, Patrice (2015-09-25). "The Wound Healing and Antibacterial Activity of Five Ethnomedical Calophyllum inophyllum Oils: An Alternative Therapeutic Strategy to Treat Infected Wounds". PLOS ONE. 10 (9): e0138602. Bibcode:2015PLoSO..1038602L. doi:10.1371/journal.pone.0138602. ISSN 1932-6203. PMC 4583440. PMID 26406588.  This article incorporates text available under the CC BY 4.0 license.
  2. ^ a b c SEAHand Book-2009 by The Solvent Extractors' Association of India
  3. ^ Richmond, George P.; del Rosario, Mariano Vivencio (1907). "Commercial Utilization of some Philippine Oil-Bearing Seeds; Preliminary Paper". The Philippine Journal of Science. II: 444.
  4. ^ Dweck, A.C.; Meadows, T. (2002). "Tamanu (Calophyllum inophyllum) – the African, Asian, Polynesian and Pacific Panacea" (PDF). International Journal of Cosmetic Science. 24 (6): 341–348. doi:10.1046/j.1467-2494.2002.00160.x. PMID 18494888. S2CID 21847865. Archived from the original (PDF) on 2019-01-19. Retrieved 18 January 2019.
  5. ^ Garazd, M. M.; Garazd, Ya L.; Khilya, V. P. (2003-01-01). "Neoflavones. 1. Natural Distribution and Spectral and Biological Properties". Chemistry of Natural Compounds. 39 (1): 54–121. doi:10.1023/A:1024140915526. ISSN 0009-3130. S2CID 38062976.
  6. ^ "Alexandrain Laurel, Undi, Undal, Sultan Champa". Gardentia. Retrieved 2017-11-12.
  7. ^ Prabu, M. J. (2014-03-26). "Using bio fuel to run an irrigation pump for five acres". The Hindu. ISSN 0971-751X. Retrieved 2017-11-12.
  8. ^ "Undi". www.svlele.com. Retrieved 2017-11-12.
  9. ^ "Calophyllum inophyllum Species Information" (PDF). Agroforestree Database. 2013-12-11. Retrieved 2019-08-27.
  10. ^ Dweck, A. C.; Meadows, T. (December 2002). "Tamanu (Calophyllum inophyllum) – the African, Asian, Polynesian and Pacific Panacea" (PDF). International Journal of Cosmetic Science. 24 (6): 341–348. doi:10.1046/j.1467-2494.2002.00160.x. ISSN 1468-2494. PMID 18494888. S2CID 21847865.
edit