Elaeis Guineensis Jacq. (ARECACEAE [PALMAE]) — African Oil Palm

This chapter provides information on uses, folk medicine, chemistry, germplasm, distribution, ecology, cultivation, harvesting, yields, energy, and biotic factors of African oil palm. Two kinds of oil are obtained from this palm, palm oil and palm kernel oil. Palm oil is extracted from the fleshy mesocarp of the fruit, which contains 45 to 55% oil which varies from light-yellow to orange-red in color, and melts from 25° to 50°C. For edible fat manufacture, the oil is bleached. Palm oil contains saturated palmitic acid, oleic acid, and linoleic acid, giving it a higher unsaturated acid content than palm kernel or coconut oils. According to Hartwell, the oil is used as a liniment for indolent tumors. Reported to be anodyne, antidotal, aphrodisiac, diuretic, and vulnerary, oil palm is a folk remedy for cancer, headaches, and rheumatism.