Astrocaryum Murumuru Seed Butter is a natural fat derived from the seeds of the Astrocaryum murumuru palm tree, indigenous to the Amazon rainforest. This butter is highly prized for its rich composition of fatty acids, vitamins, and phytosterols, making it an excellent emollient and moisturizer in cosmetic formulations. Known for its exceptional nourishing and hydrating properties, Astrocaryum Murumuru Seed Butter is widely used in skin and hair care products. It provides deep moisture, enhances skin elasticity, and helps to restore and protect hair, promoting overall health and vitality.
Chemical Composition and Structure
Astrocaryum Murumuru Seed Butter contains:
- Fatty Acids: Composed primarily of lauric acid, myristic acid, oleic acid, and palmitic acid. These fatty acids contribute to its emollient and moisturizing properties, providing a soft and smooth texture.
- Vitamins: Rich in vitamins A, C, and E, which are essential for skin health and contribute to the antioxidant properties of the butter.
- Phytosterols: These compounds enhance skin barrier function and help reduce transepidermal water loss (TEWL), further promoting hydration and skin integrity.
The unique combination of these components makes Astrocaryum Murumuru Seed Butter an effective agent for maintaining moisture and elasticity in both skin and hair.
Physical Properties
Appearance: Typically a creamy or pale yellow solid at room temperature, with a smooth texture that melts upon skin contact.
Solubility: Insoluble in water, but readily soluble in oils and fats, making it easy to incorporate into various formulations.
Melting Point: Approximately 30-35°C, which allows it to maintain a solid form at room temperature while melting easily upon application.
pH: Generally neutral, ensuring compatibility with a wide range of cosmetic formulations.
Odor: Mild, often with a subtle nutty or earthy scent.
Production Process
Harvesting: The seeds of the Astrocaryum murumuru palm are collected from the Amazon rainforest, where the trees are cultivated sustainably.
Extraction: The seeds undergo a mechanical pressing process to extract the butter, often using cold-pressing techniques to retain the beneficial properties.
Refinement: The extracted butter is refined to remove impurities while preserving its natural compounds, ensuring a high-quality product.
Formulation: Purified Astrocaryum Murumuru Seed Butter is incorporated into various cosmetic products, enhancing their moisturizing and nourishing properties.
Applications
Medical: Occasionally used in topical formulations for its soothing properties and ability to reduce inflammation and irritation.
Cosmetics: Commonly found in creams, lotions, body butters, hair conditioners, and styling products. It enhances the texture and sensory feel of products while providing significant moisturizing benefits.
INCI Functions:
Skin conditioning agent - Emollient. Emollients have the characteristic of enhancing the skin barrier through a source of exogenous lipids that adhere to the skin, improving barrier properties by filling gaps in intercorneocyte clusters to improve hydration while protecting against inflammation. In practice, they have the ability to create a barrier that prevents transepidermal water loss. Emollients are described as degreasing or refreshing additives that improve the lipid content of the upper layers of the skin by preventing degreasing and drying of the skin. The problem with emollients is that many have a strong lipophilic character and are identified as occlusive ingredients; they are oily and fatty materials that remain on the skin surface and reduce transepidermal water loss. In cosmetics, emollients and moisturisers are often considered synonymous with humectants and occlusives.
Skin conditioning agent. It is the mainstay of topical skin treatment as it has the function of restoring, increasing or improving skin tolerance to external factors, including melanocyte tolerance. The most important function of the conditioning agent is to prevent skin dehydration, but the subject is rather complex and involves emollients and humectants that can be added in the formulation.
CAS: 356065-49-1 906350-19-4
Hair Care: Included in hair care products to improve hydration, manageability, and shine.
Aromatherapy: Sometimes used in aromatherapy products for its soothing properties and subtle fragrance.
Perfume: Added to fragrance products for its unique aromatic profile and emollient qualities.
Safety
Astrocaryum murumuru seed butter is generally regarded as safe for use in cosmetics and personal care products when used as directed. Individuals with sensitivities to palm-derived ingredients or specific allergies should use it with caution. Adhering to recommended usage levels helps prevent potential adverse effects.
Environmental and Safety Considerations
Sustainability: Extraction processes should support rainforest conservation and promote sustainable harvesting practices.
Regulatory Compliance: The butter must comply with cosmetic and safety regulations to ensure quality and safety.
Quality Control: Regular testing is necessary to maintain the purity and efficacy of the butter.
References__________________________________________________________________________
Gomes GVL, Sola MR, Rochetti AL, Fukumasu H, Vicente AA, Pinho SC. β-carotene and α-tocopherol coencapsulated in nanostructured lipid carriers of murumuru (Astrocaryum murumuru) butter produced by phase inversion temperature method: characterisation, dynamic in vitro digestion and cell viability study. J Microencapsul. 2019 Jan;36(1):43-52. doi: 10.1080/02652048.2019.1585982.
Abstract. Hydrophobic bioactives can be more easily incorporated into food and have their bioavailability enhanced if nanostructured lipid carriers (NLC) are used as carriers. In the present study, beta-carotene-loaded NLC were produced by low emulsification using murumuru butter and a mixture of Span 80 and Cremophor RH40 as surfactants. Their average diameter was 35 nm and alpha-tocopherol was required to protect the encapsulated β-carotene. Besides the evaluation of their physicochemical stability, NLC were submitted to dynamic in vitro digestion and cell viability assays with Caco-2 and HEPG cells. The bioaccessibility of beta-carotene in the dynamic system was about 42%. Regarding cell viability, results indicated NLC were toxic to the cell cultures tested. Such high toxicity is probably related to the type of surfactant used and to the extremely reduced particle size, which may have led to an intense and fast permeation of the NLC through the cells.
Costa, R. L. T., do Nascimento, R. A., de Araújo, R. C. S., Vieira, M. G. A., da Silva, M. G. C., de Carvalho, S. M. L., & de Faria, L. J. G. (2021). Removal of non-steroidal anti-inflammatory drugs (NSAIDs) from water with activated carbons synthetized from waste murumuru (Astrocaryum murumuru Mart.): Characterization and adsorption studies. Journal of Molecular Liquids, 343, 116980.
Abstract. This manuscript aimed to evaluate the adsorption of ibuprofen (IBU) and naproxen (NPX) using chemically activated carbon (CAC) with ZnCl2 synthesized from the waste of murumuru (Astrocaryum murumuru Mart.). The adsorbent was characterized in terms of its textural and physicochemical properties by determining its specific surface area (SBET), pore volume (Vtotal), percentage of ash, moisture, and yield, by FT-IR spectroscopy, XRD and TGA/DTA, as well as surface functional group, surface pH, and zero-charge point (pHPZC) analyses. Batch adsorption testing was carried out to evaluate the effect of adsorbent dosage, contact time, and pH. Adsorption mechanisms and the nature of the process were elucidated through kinetics, equilibrium and thermodynamics studies. The best results of removal percentage (>70%) and adsorption capacity (>2.2 mg/g) for both adsorbates were obtained with 0.15 g CAC, pH 3.0 and 360 min. The kinetics followed the pseudo-second-order model, with external diffusion the rate-determining step. The isotherms were well fitted by the Freundlich isotherm. The thermodynamic data revealed the endothermic, physical, and spontaneous nature of the adsorption process. The results obtained in this work reveal that CAC can be used as an efficient and viable alternative adsorbent for the removal of ibuprofen and naproxen in effluent treatment processes.
Marinho, V. H., Neves, F. B., Jimenez, D. E., Oliveira, F. R., Santos, A. V. T., Ferreira, R. M., ... & Ferreira, I. M. (2022). Development of an environmentally friendly formulation of silk fibroin combined with fatty acid from Astrocaryum murumuru Mart. effective against Aedes aegypti larvae. Journal of Drug Delivery Science and Technology, 75, 103626.
Abstract. The Aedes aegypti mosquito is a vector of several diseases, including dengue, yellow fever and the Zika virus. Synthetic insecticides such as chlorpyrifos and chlorothalonil have been used to control this vector, despite causing damage to both the environment and humans. Research into natural active compounds with a low environmental impact is therefore required. The present study developed an environmentally friendly formulation of silk fibroin (SF) combined with fatty acid esters [ethyl (FAEE-SF), propyl (FAPE-SF) and butyl (FABE-SF)] from A. murumuru fat, which was effective against larvae of the Ae. aegypti vector. The FABE-SF nanoparticle induced a higher mortality rate in Ae. aegypti larvae after 48 h (LC50 = 21.35 μg/mL). The stability of the nano was monitored for 21 days, and FABE-SF exhibited greater stability throughout this period, with average particle, zeta and PDI values of around 217.5 ± 0.85 nm, −25.6 ± 3.24 mV and 0.338 ± 0.01, respectively. This is the first work of its type to identify the larvicidal activity of fatty acid esters from A. murumuru, combined with silk fibroin, against Ae. aegypti.
e Silva, A. G. M., de Lima, S. C. G., de Oliveira, P. D., Moraes, M. D. S., Guimarães, C. M. C., da Silva, J. A. R., ... & Lourenço Júnior, J. D. B. (2021). Production, chemical composition, and fatty acid profile of milk from buffaloes fed with cupuaçu (Theobroma grandiflorum) cake and murumuru (Astrocaryum murumuru) cake in the Eastern Amazon. Animal Science Journal, 92(1), e13576.
Abstract. The objective was to evaluate the effect of concentrate supplementation using by-products of the Amazonian industry on milk production, milk composition, and milk fatty acid profile of dairy buffaloes. Twelve lactating buffaloes (544.5 ± 35.6 kg, 6.4 ± 2.2 years old, 59 ± 6 days in milk) were allotted in a pasture of Mombaça grass and managed under rotational grazing (4 days occupancy/28 days rest). A 3 × 3 Latin square was adopted, and each animal alternately received three supplementary treatments based on corn bran + soybean meal or cupuaçu cake or murumuru cake for 21 days per treatment. Murumuru cake increased the levels of lauric acid and myristic acid in the milk (p < 0.05). Murumuru cake reduced the unsaturated fatty acid contents in the milk compared with animals fed control diet or cupuaçu cake (24.27% vs. 25.24% vs. 25.08%). The n-6/n-3 ratio was 2.6, 1.97, and 2.0 in the control, cupuaçu, and murumuru groups, respectively. Based on this parameter, cakes made from cupuaçu as well as murumuru could be considered to be adequate for inclusion in dairy water buffalo feed. However, the murumuru cake addition requires some caution because its use induces the secretion of higher levels of lauric and myristic fatty acids that are related to human cardiovascular disease.
