Know2eat

Babassu oil

Attalea speciosa

What babassu oil has been studied for

1 association assessed — none with dependable human evidence behind them yet. Strongest first.

  • 1 Insufficient
2 things to know first — allergies, interactions and intake limits

About babassu oil

A hard white fat pressed from the kernels of the babassu palm, harvested largely by hand in the Brazilian Amazon and Cerrado. Its lauric-dominated composition places it in the same family as coconut and palm kernel oil, and it is used as a substitute for both.

Also known as Babacu oil, Cusi oil

Heart Health

The evidence in depth

Best supported: Insufficient

What each association actually rests on, and the papers behind it. A rating describes the state of the research, not how impressive the food is. How we rate evidence.

Blood lipid profile

Heart Health
Insufficient evidence

Evidence is limited for babassu oil. No human trial has tested it, and its composition suggests it would behave like other lauric-rich saturated fats, which is an inference rather than a finding.

Insufficient evidence. Not enough human research to say anything useful yet.

3 sources

Deep research mode adds each paper’s own conclusion and stated limitations.

Ask about Babassu oil

Ask about Babassu oil

Answers are written only from the entries on this page — the same nutrients, compounds, claims and citations you can read above. Nothing is added from outside the database, and every answer lists what it was built from.

AI explanations are not switched on for this site, so there is nothing to ask here. Everything above is read straight from the database and does not need them.

Key nutrients

Nutrient content per 100 grams
NutrientAmount% DV
Macronutrients
Calories884 kcal44%
Protein0 g0%
Total fat100 g128%
Carbohydrate0 g0%
Fibre0 g0%
Total sugars0 g—
Water0 g—
Fats
Saturated fat81.2 g406%
Monounsaturated fat11.4 g—
Polyunsaturated fat1.6 g—
Cholesterol0 mg0%
EPA (omega-3)0 g—
DHA (omega-3)0 g—
DPA (omega-3)0 g—
Linoleic acid (omega-6)1.6 g—
Vitamins
Vitamin A0 µg0%
Vitamin C0 mg0%
Vitamin E19.1 mg127%
Thiamin (B1)0 mg0%
Riboflavin (B2)0 mg0%
Niacin (B3)0 mg0%
Pantothenic acid (B5)0 mg0%
Vitamin B60 mg0%
Folate0 µg0%
Vitamin B120 µg0%
Minerals
Calcium0 mg0%
Iron0 mg0%
Magnesium0 mg0%
Phosphorus0 mg0%
Potassium0 mg0%
Sodium0 mg0%
Zinc0 mg0%
Selenium0 µg0%
Other measured compounds
Beta-carotene0 µg—
Alpha-carotene0 µg—
Lycopene0 µg—
Lutein + zeaxanthin0 µg—
Caffeine0 mg—
Ash0 g—

Nutrient values are per 100 g of the USDA reference entry named on this page and vary with variety, growing conditions, storage and preparation.

Source record: Oil, babassu (USDA FoodData Central, FDC ID 171428).

% DV uses the FDA Daily Values for adults and children aged 4 and over. A dash means no Daily Value has been established for that nutrient.

Bioactive compounds

Compounds present in meaningful amounts. Presence is banded rather than quantified, because whole-food levels vary enormously with variety, growing conditions, storage and preparation.

How preparation changes things

Only effects with real support are listed. If a preparation method is missing, it is because nothing dependable is documented — not because it makes no difference.

Nothing dependable is recorded about how preparation changes this food’s nutritional properties. Rather than guess, this section stays empty.

Things to know

Allergies, interactions and intake concerns. Every food gets this section — a reference where everything is uniformly good is not a reference.

  • Too much

    Highly saturated

    Like the other lauric oils, babassu is around four-fifths saturated fat. There is no reason to expect it to behave differently from coconut or palm kernel oil in the diet.

  • Worth knowing

    Very little human research

    Babassu is mostly encountered in cosmetics and in regional Brazilian cooking. What research exists is compositional or laboratory work, and marketing claims made for it are borrowed from coconut oil rather than tested on babassu.