Ben [Oil of] (Fa., Haile de Ben, de Behen).—Oil of ben is extracted from the so-called " ben nuts," the seeds of one or more species of Moringa. The principal are N. pterygosperrna [M. oleifera, Guilandina Moringa, Hyperanthera Morinqa] and Al. aptera. The former is a native of the E. Indies; the latter is said to be indigenous to Egypt and Arabia, and has long been naturalized in the W. Indies. They are common objects of cultivation throughout India and Burma, in the N.-W. Himalaya up to 1500 ft., in Egypt, and in the W. Indies. The Indian species occurs wild in the lower Himalaya and Siwalik tract, from the Chenab to the Sardab, also in the Oudh forests. The seeds of both species are rich in fatty oil, which is extracted by simple pressure ; it seems to be less availed of in India than in the other habitats of the trees. The Indian oil has a sp. gr. of at 15i. (60° F.); it is fluid at 25° (77° F.), thick at 15° (59° F.), and becomes solid at lower temperatures ; it is almost devoid of odour and flavour, has a pale-yellowish colour, saponifies slowly, and does not turn rancid. It consists essentially of oleine, margarine, and stearine. After separation of the solidifiable portion by cooling, it is highly esteemed by watch makers as a lubricant, for which purpose it has been extensively imported. Locally, it is employed in medicine ; also by perfumers, as it possesses great power of absorbing and retaining even the moat fugitive odours. It is very commonly adulterated with virgin olive-oil. In the W. Indies, it is said to be used as a salad-oil.
(Fa., Cire de Bicuiba). —The fruit of the bicuhiba or ucuhuba of Brazil (Myristica Bicuhiba), affords a concrete oil, of yellowish-white colour, soluble in boiling alcohol, and melting at 35° F.), which is locally employed in candle-making, and as a remedy for asthma, rheumatism, and tumours.
kernel of the fruits ( " bladder-nuts ") of Staphylea pinnata are expressed in some parts of Central and E. Europe for the bland oil which they yield.
Boma-nut (see Nuts, p. 1351) which is not a species of Vitex as there supposed, but has been called Pycnocoma macrophylla, furnishes an abundanee of sweet bland oil, much used in cooking by the natives of central Africa.
or fruits of Caryocar nuciferum and C. tomentosum, lofty trees inhabiting the forests of tropical S. America, notably the banks of the Essequibo and Berbice rivers, afford edible oils.
or Oil of Theobroma (Fe., Beurre de Cacao; GER., Cacaobutter, Cacaotalg).— A valuable concrete fatty oil is derived from the seeds or beans of the cocoa- or chocolate-tree, principally Theobroma Cacao (see Cocoa, p. 684). This oil is procured almost exclusively from the chocolate-makers, who express it in the process of preparing the cocoa-nibs for the production of the article in various edible forms. The nibs are ground in heated mills, by which the oil is disengaged, and the mass becomes a soft paste ; this is placed in canvas bags, and subjected to pressure under the influence of steam-heat. The oil then escapes in a perfectly liquid condition,
and is collected in oblong tins. When necessary, it is decolorized by filtration through ivory-black, e. very fine animal charcoal. The yield of oil is from 30 to 45-50 per cent. of the weight of nibs. On cooling to ordinary temperatures, the oil becomes a, light-yellowish, opaque, dry substance, unctuous to the touch, but brittle enough to break into fragments when struck, and showing a dull waxy fracture ; it has a chocolate-like odour, and a pleasant bland flavour ; its sp. gr. is ; its fusing-point is 20°-30° (68°-86° F.); it is soluble in ether and spirit of turpentine ; it dissolves also in 20 parts boiling alcohol, but only 1 per cent. remains in solution after cooling ; it dissolves slowly in double its weight of benzol at 10° (50° F.), but partially separates by keeping ; it may be kept for a long time (even several years) without turning rancid ; it consists chiefly of stearine, and a little palmitine and oleine. It is extensively used in pharmaey, especially on the Continent. It is often adulterated with tallow, wax, &c., but its peculiar characters facilitate their detection.
or tree affording calaba-nuts (Calophyllum Calaba) flourishes most abundantly in Brazil and the W. Indies. Its seeds yield an excellent illuminating-oil.
fruit-seeds of the eboe-tree (Dipteryx eboensis), and perhaps also those of the better known species, D. odorata (see Perfumes—Tonquin-beans), contain a large quantity of a clear, yellow, fixed oil. The trees flourish throughout Brazil, Guiana, and the Mosquito country (now the E. part of Nicaragua), but it is particularly in the last-named district that the oil is extracted and utilized by the natives. Its chief applications are for anointing the hair, and for curing ulceration of the throat.
and cashew-nut (see Nuts, p. 1352) affords two kinds of oil. The kernels, which have occasionally been imported into England from India as "cassia nuts," yield a light-yellow, bland, nutritious oil, of the finest quality, in every respect equal to almond-oil, and considered superior to olive-oil. It is very seldom expressed in India, as the entire kernels are so extensively eaten. A second oil, called cardole, or " cashew-apple-oil," is obtained from the pericarps or shells of the nuts ; it is black and acrid, and is a powerful vesicating agent. It is employed in surgery as a caustic, and is frequently applied to timber which is exposed to the attacks of white ants. The yield of oil from the kernels amounts to 40 per cent. commercially, and from the pericarp 29i.