What is ungurahui?

Ungurahui is the dark purple fruit of a tall Amazon palm, Oenocarpus bataua. It is best known as a thick, milky drink and as a rich oil pressed from the pulp. The oil is also rubbed into hair and skin.

The palm is often called pataua or patawa. It grows in wet forest in Peru, Brazil, Colombia, Ecuador and Bolivia. For local families the fruit is a normal food, not a medicine.

One hazard comes first. Raw palm fruit drinks made in the Amazon have in rare cases passed on Chagas disease (an infection caused by a parasite spread by biting insects). Juice that has been heated is not a risk.

Here is the honest verdict. Ungurahui is a nourishing food with an oil much like olive oil. Human trials on its health claims are almost absent, and long traditional use is not proof that it works or that it is safe.

How does ungurahui work?

Most claims for ungurahui rest on its fat and its antioxidants.

The oil is roughly three-quarters oleic acid. That is the same main fat found in olive oil. Diets built on such fats are linked with better blood fat levels in people.

In test-tube studies, fruit extracts mop up free radicals, which are unstable molecules that can damage cells. A few animal studies suggest the oil may lower blood fats. Neither finding has been tested properly in people drinking ungurahui.

On hair, the oil works in a simple physical way. It coats and softens the strand, so hair feels smoother and breaks less. That does not mean it feeds the root or grows new hair.

The pulp also carries some protein and vitamin E. That makes it a useful food in places where fat and protein are scarce. This is nutrition, not a drug effect.

What forms does ungurahui come in?

You will meet ungurahui in a few forms.

To eat and drink:

- Fresh or frozen pulp, blended into a thick drink. - Bottled juice or drink mixes, usually heat-treated. - Cold-pressed edible oil, sold like a speciality cooking oil.

For hair and as a supplement:

- Hair and scalp oils, shampoos and conditioners. - Capsules of the oil, sold as a supplement.

Cosmetic oils are not made for eating. They may be blended with other oils, fragrance or preservatives. Keep food-grade and cosmetic products apart.

Where it comes from:

Ungurahui has been eaten in the Amazon for a very long time.

Indigenous and rural communities in Peru, Brazil, Colombia and Ecuador treated the fruit drink as a staple food. Travellers and missionaries recorded it from the colonial era onward. Some writers called it a vegetable milk because of its look and richness.

The oil had its own standing. It was pressed by hand and used for cooking and for lamps. People rubbed it into hair to keep it dark, thick and glossy, and into sore limbs.

Folk healers also gave the drink to people recovering from illness, and for coughs and chest trouble. These were customs built on daily experience. They were never tested the way a medicine is tested.

What does ungurahui help with?

• Everyday nourishment and energy: This is the use best supported by plain fact. The pulp is rich in fat and carries some protein, vitamin E and fibre. In Amazon communities the drink has long been a staple, often given to children and to people recovering from illness. As food, it does what a rich food does. It is not a treatment for any disease.
• Dry, brittle hair and scalp care: Tradition held that the oil kept hair dark, thick and glossy. The oil does coat the hair shaft and make it feel softer, and that effect is easy to notice. There are no good human trials showing it regrows hair or stops hair loss. If you are losing hair, the cause matters, so ask a doctor rather than relying on an oil.
• Dry or rough skin: It is used as a simple plant oil for dry skin, much like almond or olive oil. Rich oils sit on the surface and slow water loss. That is a real, short-term softening effect. Ungurahui oil itself has not been compared with standard moisturisers in trials.
• Coughs and chest complaints (traditional use): Folk healers gave the warm drink or spoonfuls of oil for coughs and chest trouble. This is custom, not proof. There is no human evidence that ungurahui clears a chest infection or eases a cough. Do not use it instead of care for a cough with fever, blood or breathlessness.
• Aching muscles and joints (traditional rubs): The oil was warmed and massaged into sore limbs and stiff joints. Massage with any oil can ease stiffness for a while. No trial has shown that ungurahui adds anything beyond that. It will not treat arthritis or an injury.
• Blood fat and heart health (unproven): This claim comes from the oil's fat profile, which is close to olive oil's. Diets high in mono-unsaturated fat are linked with better cholesterol levels in people. A small number of animal studies hint that ungurahui oil may lower blood fats. No solid human trial of this oil has been published, so treat the claim as untested.

Which foods are rich in ungurahui?

Ungurahui is itself a food. The fruit is blended into a thick purple-white drink, sometimes sweetened, and the pulp is used in ice cream, sweets and porridge. The pressed oil is used for cooking and dressings, much like olive oil.

What are the side effects of ungurahui?

• Loose stools or diarrhoea after large amounts of oil
• Nausea or a greasy, heavy feeling in the stomach
• Weight gain, since the oil is very high in calories
• Blocked pores or spots when heavy oil is left on the face
• Rash or itching from skin contact, in rare cases
• Allergic reaction in people sensitive to palm fruits (rare)

Good to know:

Ungurahui is generally well tolerated as a food. Most problems come from the amount of oil, not the plant itself.

Too much oil at once can loosen the bowels or upset the stomach. These effects pass when you cut back.

True allergy is rare but possible. Stop at once if you get hives, swelling of the lips or face, or trouble breathing, and get emergency help.

The serious risk is not the fruit but raw juice made in the Amazon. Rare outbreaks of Chagas disease have been traced to contaminated palm fruit drinks. Heated or pasteurised products do not carry this risk.

How much ungurahui should you take?

• Recommended daily: There is no established dose, because ungurahui is a food rather than a medicine. In the Amazon it is drunk in ordinary cup-sized servings, the way you would drink a smoothie. The oil is used in cooking like any other rich plant oil. Capsule and bottled oil labels usually suggest about one to two teaspoons a day. That is a label figure, not advice for you. Any oil is dense in calories, so it adds up fast. Cosmetic hair and skin oils are for outside use only. The amount is whatever covers the hair or patch of skin.
• Best time of day: Timing does not matter. The drink is often taken in the morning or with a meal, simply out of habit. Edible oil is used whenever you cook. For hair oils, many people apply them before washing and leave them in for a while.
• With or without food: Either way is fine, but food is kinder to the stomach. Taking oil on its own, on an empty stomach, can cause nausea or loose stools in some people. Taking it with a meal makes that less likely. The fruit drink is itself a food and needs nothing alongside it.
• Time to effect: Be realistic about what you can expect. On hair and skin, the softening is immediate and obvious. That is the oil sitting on the surface. For anything internal, there is no known time to effect. No human trial has shown a health benefit from ungurahui, so it may do nothing at all. If you eat it as food, the benefit is the nutrition it provides, like any other good food.
• How long to take it: As a food, it can be part of a normal diet with no time limit. Concentrated oil capsules are different. They have not been studied for long-term use, so no safe length of use can be stated. If you are taking capsules for a health reason and nothing changes after a few weeks, there is little point in going on. Talk to your doctor instead.