Common names | Brazil nut
Scientific name | Bertholletia excelsa
Used part | Seed
Known active compounds | selenium, vitamin E, polyunsaturated fatty acids 

Potential benefits in cosmetics | anti-oxidant
Product name | Brazil Nut-ANB

 

 

Plant Story

The Brazil nut (Bertholletia excelsa) tree is a tropical evergreen tree and one of the largest trees in the Amazon rainforest. It is native to Venezuela, Brazil, eastern Colombia, eastern Peru, and eastern Bolivia. The fruit is a large and round woody capsule. Each fruit contains 12-25 triangular shape nuts, each within its own individual shell. The indigenous tribes used Brazil nuts as an important staple in their diet. They eat the nuts raw or grate them and mix them into gruels. Nutritionally, Brazil nuts are a good source of unsaturated fatty acid, protein, dietary fiber, vitamins, and minerals. They are rich in selenium and vitamin E which are known to be antioxidants. In comparison with other tree nuts, selenium is found particularly high in Brazil nuts, which may slow the aging process and stimulate the immune system.

 

Phytochemicals found in Brazil nut include phenolics, tocopherols, phytosterols, and squalene. Brazil nut shows the highest squalene level when compared to 9 different tree nuts. Various phenolic acids and flavonoids were identified, including gallic acid, gallocatechin, catechin, vanillic acid, taxifolin, myricetin, ellagic acid, and quercetin. It was demonstrated that the brown skin of Brazil nut exhibited higher antioxidant activity compared to kernel and whole nut.