cocoanut oil (kokonutoil)

An oil obtained from the fruit of the Cocos nucifera, or cocoa-palm. It is prepared by the natives of the tropics, where the fruit abounds, both by decoction and by ex pre ion, and is used for lighting, the preparation of un guents, etc. It is exported to a considerable extent, and is also manufactured in Europe and the United States from cocoanuts or from copra, by expre ion or by treatment with sulphid of carbon. Chemically, it consists of a peculiar substance, cocinin, with a small quantity of olein. By saponification cocinin yields glycerin and cocinic acid. The oil is white, of the consistence of lard, and has a texture somewhat foliated. It is largely used in the preparation of candles and the so-called fulling-soaps. Also called cocoa-oil.