Allanblackia Oil

BOTANICAL NAME: Allanblackia stuhlmannii,

A.floribunda Allanblackia is one of the wild plant species, from whose seeds, the Allanblackia oil is extracted by local communities for varios purposes such as producing local soap and for cooking. Allanblackis oil is used in Africa as a substitute for palm oil to produce commercial products such as margarine and soaps. This high value oil is superior to palm oil.

Allanblackia seed oil is a natural, non-GMO, vegetable oil.  It consists almost exclusively of triglycerides of stearic- and oleic fatty acids.

These components are- and have always been part of the human diet. Research conducted by Unilever indicates that Allanblackia oil has a higher melting point and congeals easily at room temperature. Its special fatty acid composition (of roughly 60% stearic and 35% oleic acids) gives it unique physical and nutritional properties, and a great potential for use in manufacturing novel products.

The Allanblackia is a typical tropical rain forest belt tree species, most often found occurring in the same areas where cocoa thrives. Thus, Allanblackia is commonly found in the Western, Central, Eastern and Ashanti regions, and possibly in parts of the Brong-Ahafo.

Trees of the genus bear large fruits, up to 12 inches long which may contain 40-50 seeds. The seed kernels amount to 60-80% of the whole seed weight. A hard white fat can be extracted from the kernels. Allanblackia fats are unusual in that they consist almost entirely of stearic and oleic acids, and even more unusual in that the stearic acid proportion is very high, above 50%. Allanblackia has thus had considerable attention, based on its unusual fat composition, rather than its commercial importance (Ecky).

Allanblackia is a tree based oil crop with a new, expanding and guaranteed market. It grows only in Africa and has the potential to grow in volume and provide an attractive additional income to more than two million farmer households...it is indigenous to the very wet tropical forests and farmlands of equatorial Africa.

The tree was named after botanist Allan Black (Scotland, 1832) who worked as curator of Charles Darwin´s private collection. The story tells that Mr. Black never knew the Allanblackia tree himself.