Carapa is a genus of tropical trees in the mahogany family, Meliaceae, placed within the order Sapindales. The genus comprises trees that can reach up to 30 metres in height and is distributed across tropical South America, Central America, and West Africa. Members of the genus are commonly known as andiroba or crabwood.
The genus is best known for Carapa guianensis, a widespread Amazonian species from which andiroba oil is commercially extracted. The oil is pressed from the light brown seeds, which are collected from riverbanks and forest floors after the trees shed them — the seeds float and accumulate along waterways. The oil is light yellow, extremely bitter, and rich in olein, palmitic, stearic, and linoleic acids. At temperatures below 25 °C it solidifies to a consistency resembling petroleum jelly.
Andiroba oil is one of the most widely used medicinal plant oils in the Amazon basin, with a long history of use by indigenous and local communities. It serves as a mosquito repellent — oilseed cakes are shaped into balls and burned, or the oil is mixed with annatto (Bixa orellana) and applied topically. The timber of Carapa species is also economically significant and is harvested across its range.
Etymology
The common name andiroba derives from the Nheengatu word nhandi rob, meaning "bitter oil" — a reference to the intensely bitter oil pressed from the seeds of Carapa guianensis and related species.
Distribution
Carapa species occur in tropical South America, Central America, and Africa. The best-known species, Carapa guianensis, is widespread throughout the Amazon basin, where its seeds are collected from beaches and riverbanks.
Cultural Uses
Andiroba oil extracted from Carapa seeds is one of the most important traditional medicinal oils of the Amazon. Indigenous and local communities use it as a topical insect repellent, often blended with annatto (Bixa orellana) into a paste or burning the pressed seed cake to ward off mosquitoes. The oil has similar properties to neem oil and is used in cosmetics, traditional medicine, and as a wood preservative. The timber of Carapa is commercially harvested under the name crabwood.
