Bixa orellana / Achiote / Bixaceae (Anatto family)

Information

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Other Names

Achiote, Anatta, Annato, Annotta, Aploppas, Arnotta, Arnotto, Lipstick tree, Orellana, Orlean, Orleana Rocou, Roucou, Bija, Bijol, Foucou, Latkhan, Sendri, Achuete, Atsuwete.

Description

Throughout the Rainforest, the Indigenous Tribes have used the Annatto seeds as a body paint and as a fabric dye. Although mostly only the seed paste or seed oil is used today, the Rainforest Tribes have used the entire plant for health purposes for centuries.(1)

Contents

Bixaghanene, Bixein, Bixin, Bixol, Crocetin, Ellagic-acid, Ishwarane, Isobixin, Norbixin, Phenylalanine, Salicylic-acid, Threonine, Tomentosic-acid, Tryptophan.
Annatto seeds contain 40 to 45% cellulose, 3.5 to 5.5% sucrose, 0.3 to 0.9% essential oil, 3% fixed oil, 4.5 to 5.5% pigments, 13 to 16% protein, as well as alfa- and beta-carotenoids and other constituents.
Annato also contains tannins, ethereal oils, saponins, mustard oil-like substances and mono- and sesquiterpenes. Annato oil is extracted from the seeds and is the main source of the pigments, Bixin and Norbixin, which are classified as carotenoids. Bixin is used as a colorant in foods.(1)

Historical

The name Achiote derives from the Nahuatl word for the shrub, achiotl. It is also known as Aploppas, and its original Tupi name urucu. It is best known as the source of the natural pigment annatto, produced from the fruit. Annatto can also refer to the plant itself.(2)
Annatto has been traced back to the ancient Mayan Indians who employed it as a principal coloring agent in foods, for body paints and as a coloring for arts, crafts and murals. Annatto is used by Brazilian healers and curanderos of the Peruvian Amazon to prepare various remedies. Much has been done in the laboratory validating annatto's traditional uses and finding new ones.(1)
The Machiguenga and other native peoples of the Amazon first used achiote as a bright red paint for adorning the face and hair. Achiote is cooked with sap from the rubber tree to make a durable latex paint that sticks to the skin for several days. The Machiguenga believe that different varieties of achiote can be used to paint the face for different purposes: as a disguise to dispel illnesses, as makeup to attract a girlfriend or boyfriend , as snake repellent, or as war paint to be fierce in battle.(3)

Plant Description

Bixa is a profusely fruiting shrub or small tree that grows 5 to 10 meters in height. It grows throughout South and Central America, the Caribbean, and can be found in some parts of Mexico as well. It is also cultivated in Southeast Asia, where it was introduced by the Spanish in the 17th century.
Approximately 50 seeds grow inside of prickly reddish-orange heart shaped pods at the end of the branches. The trees are literally covered by these brightly colored pods and one small Bixa tree can produce up to 600 pounds of seeds.

References

(1) Annatto, Raintree Plant Database
(2) Achiote, Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
(3) The Living Eden, *Manu*, Useful Plants, by Glenn Shepard Jr., Medical Anthropologist and Ethnobotanist