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

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  1. ^ Robert Kleiman (1990). "Chemistry of New Industrial Oilseed Crops". Advances in New Crops: 196–203. Retrieved 2006-10-09.