Pongamia oil

Pongamia oil is derived from the seeds of the Millettia pinnata tree, which is native to tropical and temperate Asia. Millettia pinnata, also known as Pongamia pinnata or Pongamia glabra, is common throughout Asia and thus has many different names in different languages, many of which have come to be used in English to describe the seed oil derived from M. pinnata; Pongamia is often used as the generic name for the tree and is derived from the genus the tree was originally placed in.

Other English names for this oil include Honge oil (from Kannada), Kanuga oil (from Telugu), Karanja oil (from Hindi), and Pungai oil (from Tamil).

Millettia pinnata is native to South and Southeast Asia. Known in various languages as Indian beech, Pongam, Karanja, Honge, Kanuga, and Naktamala, it is now grown all over the world. Typically the plant starts yielding pods from the fifth year on with the yields increasing each year until it stabilizes around the tenth year. Seeds are usually harvested in the spring, each seed weighing from about 1.1 grams (0.039 oz) to 1.8 grams (0.063 oz). The yield per tree can range from about 10 kilograms (22 lb) to more than 50 kilograms (110 lb) depending on conditions, with an average of 1500-1700 seeds per kilogram. Historically the pods are removed from the trees by beating the branches with sticks and using mallets or stones. Research is ongoing into mechanical harvesting methods.

The basic nutritional components of Millettia pinnata seeds may change depending on the season and maturity of the tree but in general are as follows:

Pongamia oil is extracted from the seeds by expeller pressing, cold pressing, or solvent extraction. The oil is yellowish-orange to brown in color. It is toxic and will induce nausea and vomiting if eaten, but it is used in many traditional remedies. It has a high content of triglycerides, and its disagreeable taste and odor are due to bitter flavonoid constituents including karanjin, pongamol, tannin and karanjachromene.

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