Raw Unrefined Organically Grown/Wild-Harvested Cupuacu
INCI: Theobroma grandiflorum seed butter
CAS# 394236-97-6
Melting point: 25-35 C
Iodine Value: 40-50 mg I2/100 gr
Sap. Number: 180-190 mg KOH/gr
Cupuacu belongs to the same family as cocoa and it is one of the superfruits of the Amazonian rainforest. The butter is cold pressed from the fruit seeds and are considered food, medicine and cosmetic ingredient among the inhabitants. Cupulate which is a kind of regional chocolate is prepared from the roasted and crushed seeds.
The butter has a balanced combination of saturated and unsaturated fatty acid. This is the reason for its low melting point and its very nice skin feel despite high concentrations of stearic acid (ca. 35%). The butter contains ca. 2-3% unsaponifiables, mainly phytosterols and tocopherols. Capuacu butter contains ca. 11% arachidic acid, a saturated fatty acid with 20 Carbon atoms (C20:0).
Capuacu butter has an amazing ability to bind water. It is some 120% of lanolin’s ability and it is sometimes offered as a plant based substitute for lanolin. Due to its moisturization as well as phytosterols and tocopherol content, it is applied in moisturizing and barrier repair hair and skin care products. According to Krist, it could be even applied as an emulsifier because of its good water-binding ability*. In a specific study, a skin repair cream with 7.5% Cupuacu was successfully applied to reduce inflammation and TEWL of SLS caused irritation.
It is a very elegant butter with a nice skin feel and a replacement for shea butter (it doesn't have that "graininess" problem of shea butter in balms and butters). It is specially recommended in cream shampoos, conditioners and cream shower gels.
Oil profile:
Palmitic acid: 7-12%
Stearic acid: 28-35%
Oleic acid: 40-45%
Linoleic acid: 3-7%
Arachidic acid: 8-13%
Behenic acid: 1-2%
*Krist, Sabine, Gerhard Buchbauer, and Carina Klausberger. "Andirobaöl." Lexikon der pflanzlichen Fette und Öle.
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