INCI: Trichilia emitica

Shelf life: 3 years

NaOH SAP0.141

KOH SAP0.198

Introduction

Trichilia emetica, an African plant, is used in traditional medicine to treat a variety of ailments including abdominal pain, dermatitis, haemorrhoids, jaundice, and chest pain. This species, also known as Natal Mahogany, is used for its emetic, diuretic, and purgative properties, as well as for labour induction. The oil has been used traditionally to help moisturise the hair and skin.

Physical and Chemical Characteristics

Mafura butter belongs to the Meliaceae or Mahogany family. The genus name ‘‘Trichilia’’ is derived from Greek ‘‘tricho’’ referring to the 3-lobed fruits and ‘‘emetica’’ referring to the emetic (vomit inducing) properties of the tree. About 20 Trichilia species have been identified in the southern African region.

The bark of the tree is smooth dark grey-brown with a diameter between 1.8 and 15 m. T. emetica produces three to five pairs of leaflets with prominent veins on the lower surface. The dark glossy leaves reach a length of up to 70 cm (Allaby, 1998; Coates-Palgrave, 2000; Pooley, 1993). The flowers vary in colour from creamy to pale yellowish-green and are produced on short congested axillaries with five thick petals, which are about 2 cm long (Fig. 2). Flowering occurs between spring and summer (October and December) (Coates-Palgrave, 2000; Pooley, 1993)

In terms of skin health, a poultice of the the leaves and fruits of the plant have been used to treat eczema and bruises (Komane et al 2011).

The oil comes from the pressed seed that are high in fat and produce high quality oil and butter. Studies have found that the seed yields anywhere between 30% and (Campbell et al, 1993) 66% oil, which makes it comparable if not better than some of the common edible oils (Adinew, 1993). Mafura butter has low iodine values indicating that it is highly saturated and not susceptible to rancidity.

The ripe mafura fruit yields two types of oil: the edible “mafura oil” which is extracted from the flesh seed envelope/aril; and the bitter tasting, emetic and inedible “mafura butter” or “mafura tallow”, which is extracted from the seed kernel. It has been reported that a 4-step consecutive processing (degumming, neutralization, bleaching and deodorization) of the mafura butter can produce an oil with an acceptable flavour (Fupi and Mork, 1982 in Uamusse 2016).

Skin and Hair Benefits

Traditionally, mafura butter is used as a hair conditioner, a colorant, applied to the skin and also used for medicinal purposes. The mafura butter which is obtained from the seed kernel on the other hand is used in making soap, candle and wood polish. (Mashungwa and Mmolotsi, 2007)

Women in the former Gazaland use the oil for cosmetic purposes and for leprosy the oil is used in combination with Cyathula natalensis (Hutchings 1996 in Baatile, 2011)

References

Baatile M. Komane, Alvaro M. Viljoen, (2011) Trichilia emetica (Meliaceae) – A review of traditional uses, biological activities and phytochemistry in Phytochemistry Letters

Grundy, Isla & Campbell, Bruce Morgan. (1993). Potential production and utilisation of oil fromTrichilia SPP. (Meliaceae). Economic Botany. 47. 10.1007/BF02862017.

B. Adinew (2013)Physico-chemical properties of Trichilia emetica seeds oil and its comparison with some selected oilseed oils Department of chemistry, Mizan-Tepi University, Tepi campus, Ethiopia, East Africa.

Amália Uamusse and Samuel Owusu Yeboa A comparative study of the oils from the seed arils of Trichilia emetica from Mozambique; Department of Chemistry, Eduardo Mondlane University, PO Box 257, Maputo, Mozambique, Chemistry Department, University of Botswana