In this article
- Andiroba (Carapa guianensis) is the cold-pressed oil from the seeds of a towering tree native to Amazonia's flooded forests. Its Tupi name means "bitter oil."
- Amazonian communities have used it for generations on the skin, in massage, in soap, and to keep insects at bay.
- Its signature compounds are limonoids, andirobin chief among them, bitter molecules studied for anti-inflammatory properties, carried on a base of oleic and palmitic fatty acids.
- For healers of the upper Amazon, the oil supports a form of care that goes deeper than the surface of the skin.
- At Jaina, andiroba appears in two Ritual Objects: the Amazonian Alchemist balm and the Luminous Rose serum.
Some trees grow where no one builds. Andiroba is one of them. It roots itself in forests the flood covers every year, suspended between water and earth, and drops heavy seeds that the current carries off. They are gathered once the waters recede, then pressed, yielding an amber oil with a frank, honest bitterness. The peoples of the Amazon named it for exactly what it is: a bitter oil, kept for care.
What Is Andiroba (Carapa guianensis)?
Andiroba is a towering tree of the mahogany family (Meliaceae) that can grow past thirty meters. It ranges from Central America down through the Amazon basin, with a strong presence in northern and northeastern Brazil, often in flood-prone zones where other species cannot take hold. Its rich, oily seeds float and disperse on the water. Communities collect them from the ground once the floodwaters recede, then cold-press them into an amber-yellow oil that solidifies as soon as it cools.
The name comes from the Tupi nhandi rob, "bitter oil," and that bitterness is no small detail. The oil's fatty acid profile is fairly ordinary, dominated by oleic and palmitic acid alongside linoleic and stearic acid. What truly sets it apart are its limonoids, also called tetranortriterpenoids: andirobin, gedunin, and their relatives. These are what give the oil its bitter edge, and what research is studying most closely.
oil of andiroba (Carapa guianensis)Andiroba in the Amazon: A Knowledge Passed Down
In the daily life of the Amazon basin, andiroba is everywhere. For a long time it served as lamp oil. Blended with copaiba resin, it goes into candles burned to keep mosquitoes away. It is made into soap. And above all, it is applied to the skin: massaged into tired muscles and aching joints, onto bruises, onto irritated or bitten skin. It is a household remedy, the kind always kept within reach.
For healers of the upper Amazon, an oil like this is never confined to the body. Andiroba accompanies their work of care, a slow, deliberate massage, a hand that follows the pain to release it. Its bitterness places it among the serious medicines, the ones handled with attention rather than for simple comfort. It is also used to protect, to keep at bay whatever bites or weakens during long hours spent in the forest. This knowledge passes slowly, from elder to younger, and it is this way of caring for the skin as part of a larger whole that we encountered on our travels through the Amazon.
Found in Two Ritual Objects
In this balm, andiroba oil joins murumuru butter and sangre de drago, alongside our Amazonian Elixir. It lends its fatty-acid richness and its limonoids to a formula designed to envelop tired skin and support its regeneration.
In this serum, andiroba slips into the matrix of precious oils that carries the bakuchiol and sangre de drago oil. It contributes to the nourishing veil that helps restore the skin barrier and soothe sensations of discomfort.
What Research Is Studying in Carapa guianensis
A review published in 2014 in Current Pharmaceutical Design gathers the data on andiroba's tetranortriterpenoids: in rodents, these compounds reduced edema formation across several experimental models and lowered inflammatory mediators.1
A literature review published in 2024 in the Journal of Ethnopharmacology surveys the oil's traditional uses related to inflammation and wound healing, along with its reported effects on the skin's immune system.2
In 2025, a study published in Pharmaceutics characterized an andiroba oil (oleic acid around 48%, palmitic acid around 29%), measured antioxidant capacity, and observed accelerated wound closure in cultured human keratinocytes compared to the control.3
Phytochemistry research has isolated and described the bioactive limonoids present in the seed oil, confirming andirobin and its relatives as the plant's characteristic fraction.4
1. Henriques, M. G., Penido, C. "The therapeutic properties of Carapa guianensis." Current Pharmaceutical Design, 2014, 20(6):850-6. PubMed
2. Effects of andiroba oil (Carapa guianensis Aublet) on the immune system in inflammation and wound healing: a scoping review. Journal of Ethnopharmacology, 2024. ScienceDirect
3. Monteiro, I. S., et al. "The Development and Characterization of an Andiroba Oil-Based Nanoemulsion (Carapa guianensis, Aubl.): Insights into Its Physico-Chemical Features and In Vitro Potential Healing Effects." Pharmaceutics, 2025. PubMed Central
4. Bioactive limonoids from Carapa guianensis seeds oil and the sustainable use of its by-products. Current Research in Toxicology / Food Chemistry Advances, 2023. ScienceDirect
Frequently Asked Questions
What is andiroba?
Andiroba is the cold-pressed oil from the seeds of Carapa guianensis, a towering tree of Amazonia's flooded forests. Its Tupi name means "bitter oil." It has been used for generations in traditional Amazonian medicine, particularly on the skin and in massage.
Why is andiroba oil bitter?
Its bitterness comes from its limonoids, also called tetranortriterpenoids, andirobin chief among them. Beyond the oleic and palmitic fatty acids that make up most of the oil, it is these bitter compounds that give it its signature, and that research is studying for anti-inflammatory properties.
How was andiroba traditionally used in the Amazon?
As lamp oil, in candles blended with copaiba to repel mosquitoes, in soap, and above all applied to the skin: massaged into muscles and joints, onto bruises, onto irritated or bitten skin. It is a household remedy passed down from generation to generation.
Which Jaina Ritual Objects contain andiroba?
Andiroba oil goes into two formulas: the Amazonian Alchemist balm, where it joins murumuru butter, sangre de drago, and the Amazonian Elixir, and the Luminous Rose serum, alongside bakuchiol and sangre de drago oil.
Related Ritual Objects
This page presents the cultural, botanical, and scientific history of andiroba for informational purposes; it does not constitute a claim about the effects of our Ritual Objects. Want to explore the other plants in our rituals? Discover our ingredient glossary.