It is called coyol, or Acrocomia aculeata, it is a palm tree native to certain tropical areas of America, such as Brazil, where it is known as the most common palm tree. It can be between 5 and 15 meters high, and has the quality of resisting droughts, being able to live up to 80 years. Although for many this plant is just one more component of the most beautiful landscapes in the world, its fruits could be “the new gold” of Brazil.
“Indigenous communities already used coyol to light torches, in Ouro Preto they saw it as fuel for lamps, cosmetics, pharmaceutical products and there is even a fermented product made with the stem of the plant or coyol wine,” says Luiz Berton, a researcher at the Research Support Foundation of the State of São Paulo (Fapesp) for the cultivation of coyol, in dialogue with the BBC.
Other names of the coyol
Brazil: macaúba, macaúva, mucajá, mucaia, coco-de-espinho, coco-seboso.
Mexico: cocoyol, slimy coquito, coyol palm.
Dominica and Martinique: dinde, glou glou, glouglou, palmier glouglou.
Puerto Rico: grugru palm, prickly palm, corozo.
Colombia: round corozo, chewing gum monposino, tamaca.
Venezuela: amankayo, tucuma, corozo de vino.
Cuba: corojo.
Bolivia: totaí, pot-bellied totaí, mbocayá, cayará.
Argentina and Paraguay: cayete, ocori coquito.
Why could it be the new “gold”?
- Coyol pulp is used to produce biodiesel. Currently 60% of biofuel is produced from soybean oil. This would be a more efficient alternative due to the high production of oil per hectare and its physicochemical properties that result in a high quality biodiesel.
- Coyol oil can be used in food (with a quality similar to olive oil), and its fruit is edible. In addition, with the pulp of the coyol, flour with a high content of vitamin A can be made.
- Its leaves are used in the textile industry.
- The oil extracted from its almond has ideal characteristics for the manufacture of cosmetics, as it facilitates the penetration of the product into the skin.
- Its endocarp (part of the fruit that surrounds the seeds) is used for the treatment of activated carbon, which is used as a filter to purify air and liquids.
- As it has a thin foliage it can be cultivated together with the lawn, allowing the work of small farmers.
- It is profitable: it produces 3 to 4 tons of pulp oil per hectare.
- It is used to prepare food for animals due to its high nutritional and energetic power.
- Its fibers are used in the manufacture of handicrafts and work tools such as ropes and other highly resistant and durable products.
This palm is a native plant that is still being researched and it is possible that it will gain a market in a short time. However, some environmentalists oppose the cultivation of palm trees, since it is the cause of 8% of deforestation in the world. Even so, its cultivation continues to be, in relation, more favorable to that of palm oil.
What do you think about this?