Cuphea oil is oil pressed from the seeds of several species of the genus Cuphea. Interest in cuphea oils is relatively recent, as a source of medium-chain triglycerides like those found in coconut oil and palm oil. Cuphea oil is of interest because it grows in climates where palms - the source of both of these oils - do not grow.
The fatty acid content of cuphea oils are as follows. The composition of coconut oil is included for comparison:[1]
| Species | Caprylic | Capric | Lauric | Myristic | Other |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| C. painteri | 73.0% | 20.4% | 0.2% | 0.3% | 6.1% |
| C. hookeriana | 65.1% | 23.7% | 0.1% | 0.2% | 10.9% |
| C. koehneana | 0.2% | 95.3% | 1.0% | 0.3% | 3.2% |
| C. lanceolata | 87.5% | 2.1% | 1.4% | 9.0% | |
| C. viscosissima | 9.1% | 75.5% | 3.0% | 1.3% | 11.1% |
| C. carthagenensis | 5.3% | 81.4% | 4.7% | 8.6% | |
| C. laminuligera | 17.1% | 62.6% | 9.5% | 10.8% | |
| C. wrightii | 29.4% | 53.9% | 5.1% | 11.6% | |
| C. lutea | 0.4% | 29.4% | 37.7% | 11.1% | 21.4% |
| C. epilobiifolia | 0.3% | 19.6% | 67.9% | 12.2% | |
| C. stigulosa | 0.9% | 18.3% | 13.8% | 45.2% | 21.8% |
| Coconut | 8.0% | 7.0% | 48.0% | 18.0% | 19.0% |
These oils are also valuable as sources of single fatty acids. C. painteri, for example, is rich in caprylic acid (73%), where C. carthagenensis oil consists of 81% lauric acid. C. koehneana oil may be the richest natural source of a single fatty acid, with 95% of its content consisting of capric acid.
References
- ^ Robert Kleiman (1990). "Chemistry of New Industrial Oilseed Crops". Advances in New Crops: 196–203. Retrieved 2006-10-09.