Industrial Crops and Products 22 (2005) 169–174 Short communication Fatty acid profiles of kukui nut oils over time and from different sources H. Ako a,∗ , N. Kong a , A. Brown b a Department of Molecular Biosciences and Bioengineering, University of Hawaii, 1955 East West Road, #218, Honolulu, HI 96822, USA b Department of Human Nutrition, Food, and Animal Sciences, University of Hawaii, 1955 East West Road, #216, Honolulu, HI 96822, USA Received 9 July 2003; accepted 22 July 2004 Abstract Kukui nut (Aleurites moluccana) oil is starting to become a source of ingredients for cosmetics preparation. Fatty acid profiles are considered to be important for quality assessment. As part of an effort to grow the kukui nut oil industry, information was needed to determine whether fatty acid profiles of kukui nut oils made 10 years ago have changed over time. Commercial chemical preparation procedures and laboratory analytical methods have been modified. In addition, it was desirable to know whether oils from nuts from different parts of the world and oils subjected to deodorization procedures had similar fatty acid profiles. All kukui nut oils from Polynesian sources (Hawaii, Tonga) had identical fatty acid profiles over a 10-year period. This finding suggests that production practices for obtaining the oil and analytical procedures had not changed significantly over time. One Polynesian oil had a profile that was similar to the kukui nut oils obtained from Indonesia and East Timor. Like deodorized kukui nut oils obtained by steam distillation, these were also different from most of the Polynesian oils in that their linolenic acid (18:3c9,12,15) values were significantly lower. © 2004 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved. Keywords: Kukui; Emollient; Dry skin; Omega-3 fatty acid 1. Introduction Kukui nut oil is derived from the nuts of Aleurites moluccana, the state tree of Hawaii. The tree is not endemic, but was carried from place to place by Poly- ∗ Corresponding author. Tel.: +1 808 956 2012; fax: +1 808 956 3542. E-mail address: hako@hawaii.edu (H. Ako). nesians as they populated various islands in the Pa- cific Ocean. Hawaiians have been using the kukui tree and its products for centuries as a medicinal, a food (a condiment for raw fish called inamona), and fuel for light (thus, its common name candlenut). It was the most widely used medicinal plant in Hawaii (Abbot and Shimazu, 1985; Abbot, 1992; Whistler, 1992). Kupuna (elders) used it to soothe the chapped skin of infants. Kukui nut oil was also used for treating burns, cold 0926-6690/$ – see front matter © 2004 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved. doi:10.1016/j.indcrop.2004.07.003