The Story of Mee oil (MADHUCA OIL)
Madhuca longifolia (Mee) oil has been consumed as an edible oil from antiquity in Sri Lanka and many other countries, apart its numerous other uses as an ayurvedic drug. It has also been used for lighting oil lamps. Fruits from scattered trees especially in the dry zone are collected and seeds used for making oil. It grows many parts of the dry zone, especially along river banks. Notably madhuca has an oil yield potentially more than thrice the national coconut oil yield. Probably with varietal selection and genetic improvement it should be possible to increase the yields further. The tree can also be vegetatively propagated. MEE OIL (MADHUCA OIL) The genus Madhuca, belonging to the family of Sapotaceae, is a multipurpose tree with its species, Madhuca longifolia, Madhuca latifolia and Madhuca butyracea being the most prevalent.
Buttercup or mahua, Madhuca longifolia (Koenig) (Synonyms, Madhuca indica Gmelin; Family, Sapotaceae), is a large, shady, deciduous tree dotting much of the central Indian landscape, both wild and cultivated The tree is economically important because of widespread uses of its flowers, fruits, seeds and timber. The tree wins in fame due to the liquor distilled from the flowers, which are used to make vinegar. The expectorant flowers are used to treat chest problems such as bronchitis. They are also taken to increase production of breastmilk. The distilled juice of the flowers is considered a tonic, both nutritional and cooling. The leaves are applied as a poultice to relieve eczema. In Indian folk medicine, the leaf ash is mixed with ghee to make a dressing for wounds and burns. Mahua preparations are used for removing intestinal worms, respiratory infections and in cases of debility and emaciation. The astringent bark extract is used for dental-related problems, rheumatism, and diabetes.
Madhuca longifolia flowers seasonally and produces green-fleshy fruits containing three to four seeds. The buttercup fruit-seeds, generally ellipsoidal shaped, measured from 1.5 to 2.0 cm and from 1.3 to 1.6 cm across the length and breadth, respectively. The medicinal properties attributed to this plant are stimulant, demulcent, emollient, heating, and astringent. Previous phytochemical studies on Madhuca longifolia included characterization of sapogenins, carbohydrates, triterpenoids, steroids, saponins, flavonoids, and glycosides. In view of the attributed medicinal properties, new components including: madhucic acid (a pentacyclic triterpenoid), madhushazone (an untypical isoflavone), madhusalmone [(a bis(isoflavone)] and four new oleananetype triterpene glycosides (madlongisides A-D). Madhucosides A and B were isolated from Madhuca longifolia and showed significant inhibitory effects on both superoxide release from polymorphonuclear cells and hypochlorous acid generation from neutrophils. Madhuca longifolia fruit is valued for its seed which contain high quantity of lipids (ca. 50–61 %), commercially known as mahua or mowrah butter, and it has many edible, medicinal and non-food applications (Ramadan et al. 2006). The whole mahua seeds contain 50–61 % oil, 16.9 % protein, 3.2 % fiber, 22 % carbohydrates, 3.4 % ash, 2.5 % saponins, and 0.5 % tannins. Oil represents the major component which is thrice the amount of protein. The deoiled seed cake contains 30 % protein, 1 % oil, 8.6 % fiber, 42.8 % carbohydrates, 6 % ash, 9.8 % saponins, and 1 % tannins (Singh and Singh 1991). Defatting of the mahua seed increased the protein, saponin and tannin levels. The levels of saponins could be reduced by treatment with isopropanol.
The deoiled mahua seed cake showed good oil absorption and emulsification properties. The in vitro digestibility of mahua seed cake after treatment with isopropanol was found to be 81 %. Detoxified mahua seed flour appears to be a good source of protein for food and feed products reported on composition, nutritional value, functional properties as well as food and nonfood applications of mahua lipids. The crude oil extracted from the seeds of Madhuca longifolia is known in India as mahua butter, which is pale yellow in color and remains as a semi-solid under the tropical temperature conditions. On the basis of iodine value IV (ca. 80), mahua butter could be classified as a non-drying oil. The IV of mahua butter is well-above from those reported for Malaysian cocoa butter or Borneo Illipe butter.
