Boabab Oil
Botanical: Adansonia digitata
Family: Bombacaceae
Common: Baobab, Cream of tartar, Monkey Bread Tree, Upside-down Tree
Botanical Description
The Latin name for Baobab, Adansonia digitata, is in honour of the French botanist, Michel Adanson, who concluded that out of all the trees he had studied, the Baobab, ‘is probably the most useful tree in all’. However, it is also impressive in terms of both stature and age; the tree may grow to 24m in height, the swollen trunks can reach up to 25m in circumference and the oldest is reputed to have lived for over 6,000 years. M. Adanson based the age of one tree on 14th and 15th century medieval names that had been carved into the trunk and subsequently elongated with the growth of the tree.
The Baobab’s famous silhouette has become legendary, generating the common name, ‘the upside-down tree’, to describe the unusual root-like branches which are seasonally devoid of foliage. The deciduous Baobab has digitate leaves (hand-shaped) and the bark is smooth and grey. The white flowers are nocturnally pollinated by fruit bats and it has been suggested that bush babies, that feed off the flowers at night, may also help in the pollination process. The ovoid fruits have a hard woody shell covered in a velvety down of yellowish- green hairs. Inside its shell, the fruit contains a number of seeds, embedded in a whitish, powdery pulp.
Distribution
The baobab tree is found throughout Africa, generally at low altitudes and in the hotter, drier areas. In fact, so widespread is the tree that, to many people, it is an icon, symbolic of the continent itself. It is found, in abundant groves, across each of the five countries from which PhytoTrade Africa members are drawn.
Traditional uses
The Baobab tree is fondly called ‘the tree of life’. This name has been earned because every part, from the leaves to the roots, can be applied to treat and prevent specific ailments. In particular the kernels contained within the Baobab fruit pod yield a rich, golden, scented oil traditionally used by African women to protect their beautiful skin and hair against the harsh African savannah environment. The oil has strong moisturizing and sheen properties and is used to both prevent and cure dry skin conditions of the face, body and scalp.
Technical characteristics
Described as semi-fluid, golden yellow and gently scented, the seed oil contains almost equal measures of saturated, monounsaturated and polyunsaturated fatty acids. Of specific interest is the presence of the essential linoleic acid, which can not be synthesized by the human body.
Technical specifications
INCI name: |
Adansonia digitata Seed oil |
CAS No |
91745-12-9, 225233-93-2 |
EINECS No |
294-680-8 |
Description: |
Golden yellow gently scented oil, which is liquid at room temperature |
Specific Gravity |
0.91-0.92 |
Iodine Value gI2/100g |
65-95 |
Saponification Value mgKOH/g |
180-200 |
Acid Value mg KOH/g |
5 max |
Peroxide value mEq O2/Kg |
15 max |
Fatty Acid Composition
Parameter |
Range |
|---|---|
16:0 palmitic % |
18.0- 30.0 |
18:0 stearic % |
2.0-9.0 |
18:1 oleic % |
30.0-42.0 |
18:2 linoleic % |
20.0-35.0 |
20:0 arachidic % |
<2 |
8,9-methylene heptadec-8-enoic acid (malvalic) % |
1.2-6.2 |
9,10-methylene octadec-9-enoic acid (sterculic) % |
0.8- 2.5 |
MANUFACTURING PROCESS: |
Cold pressed (T<60°C) - no solvents or chemicals used. |
|
Successive filtrations of the oil through filter cloth. |
STORAGE: |
keep away from light, heat (T<20°C) and in a dry place. |
PACKAGING: |
5, 25 litre and 200 kg drums. |
Suggested applications
Skin: dry, wrinkled and to protect against chapping. An ingredient for suncare products.
Scalp: it is used for the scalp and hair- it gives brightness and shine to dry hair.
Hands: strengthens nails against breaking.
Body: used to massage into the body to sooth and relieve tired bodies.
Selected references
Addy, E, and Eteshola, E, 1984: Nutritive value of a mixture of tigernut tubers (cyperus esculentus L and baobab seeds (Adansonia digitata L) Journal of Science Food Agriculture 35: 437 – 440
Arnold, T. et al (1985) Khoisan food plants: taxa with potential for future economic exploitation In Plants for arid lands. Proceedings of the Kew International Conference on Economic Plants for Arid Lands, Royal Botanical Gardens, Kew.
Bosch, C. et al (2004) Adansonia digitata L. In Plant Resources of Tropical Africa 2. Vegetables (Eds, Grubben, G. and Denton, O.), Backhuys, Leiden, Netherlands, PROTA Foundation, Wageningen, the Netherlands, pp. 36-40.
Eteshola, E. and Oraedu, A. C. I. (1996) Fatty acid compositions of tigernut tubers (Cyperus esculentus), baobab seeds (Adansonia digitata), and their mixture. JAOCS, 73 (2): 255-257.
Ezeagu, I. et al (1998) Fat content and fatty acid composition of oils extracted from selected wild- gathered tropical plant seeds from Nigeria. JAOCS, 75 (8): 1031-1035.
Guy, G. L. (1971) The Baobabs: Adansonia Spp. (Bombacaceae). Journal of the Botanical Society of South Africa, 57: 31-37.
Magboul, B. I. and Mustafa, A.M.I., (1979) Studies on baobab seed oil. Sudan Journal of Food Science and Technology, 11: 15-17.
Odetokun, S, 1996: The nutritive value of Baobab fruit (Andonsonia digitata). La Rivista Italiano Delle Sostanze Grasse 73 (August) 371 - 371
Shukla, Y. N. et al (2001) Chemistry, biology and uses of Adansonia digitata - a review. Journal of Medicinal and Aromatic Plants Sciences, 23 (3): 429-434.
Weiss, E. A. (1979) Some indigenous plants used domestically by East African coastal fishermen. Economic Botany, 33 (1): 35- 51.
Wickens, G. E. (1982) The baobab - Africa's upside-down tree. Reprint from Kew Bulletin, 37 (2).
Wren, S. and Stucki, A. (2003) Organic essential oils, indigenous cold pressed oils, herbs and spices in Sub- Saharan Africa. The International Journal of Aromotherapy, 13 (2/3): 71-81.