I had mentioned on facebook that I was going to introduce Palm Kernel Oil and Cocoa Butter for sale and someone asked me what the difference between Palm Oil and Palm Kernel Oil (PKO) was. I gave her a short answer, but would like to post a longer one here. By the way, PKO is also known as mmanu aki in Igbo. I don’t know the name in any other Nigerian language. If you do, please leave it in the comment section.
Update: Thanks to the readers that contributed names of PKO in their local language.
Yoruba: Adin Ekuro
Efik: Mmayanya (sp?)
The palm fruit that we all know and love looks like this:
When extracting palm oil at home for preparing Banga soup, the palm fruit is boiled and the orangey-red palm oil extracted from the soft fleshy part (also known as the Mesocarp). This is about the same method used in preparing palm oil commercially. (I should know, my maternal grandmother had a local commercial palm oil press 🙂 ).
Palm Oil is used for cooking, soap making and food manufacturing. Let me spend a minute on the food manufacturing – Refined (bleached) palm oil is used in Baked goods, Instant noodles, Baby formula, Cake mixes, Breakfast bars, Potato chips, Crackers and other snacks. Vegetable Glycerin which we love so much for our hair and skin also sometimes comes from Palm Oil.
Once the oil from the Mesocarp is extracted, we are left with a black hard kernel. As children we would take these kernels to a set of stones set up for the purpose of kernel cracking. You place the kernel on a stone, hit it with a smaller stone and Voila! you reveal the nut inside. They look like this:
As children, we would eat these on its own or with roasted breadfruit (aki na ukwa). Gosh, I loved my childhood! My dad used to take these nuts to school as a snack when he was in Primary school.
It is from these kernels that one gets Palm Kernel Oil. It is not an viscous, orangey-red oil like Palm Oil is. Rather it is a dark-ish, nutty smelling oil.
The women of my village use Palm Kernel Oil for their hair, skin and also in making soap. Palm Kernel Oil is used commercially by a lot of soap makers and cosmetic manufacturers.
I will do a post soon on the benefits of Palm Kernel Oil.
To finish, here is an excellent video by Akua Wood (one of my favourite people on the web) of Sheabutter cottage on which of the two oils to use for hair/skin. Which Palm for hair? (Please click on the link as I find it difficult to insert videos…)
Reference:
Uses: American Palm Oil
African Naturalista
Thanks for the brief education.
I worked with a client that manufactures soap, I kept smelling the nutty oil and felt it was coconut oil. They told me it was PKO. This article now sheds more light on why it smelt nutty
Natural Nigerian
Glad it was useful to you.
Sheyi
Hiya, i was just wondering if you will be able to post the palm oil and cocoa butter to the UK? And if you will also be doing Shea butter? Thx!
Natural Nigerian
Hey Sheyi, I currently have no plans of shipping to the UK. I may be wrong but I think the P&P would make the price inhibitive.
You can buy Shea butter, Cocoa butter and PKO from the lovely Akua Wood of the SheaButter Cottage in the UK.
Judy
You are right NN. At times the postage cost either is the price of the product or exceeds. Great article 🙂
Natural Nigerian
Thank you Judy.
Sheyi
Thank you. Will definitely check her out. :]
Ewaoju
Yea dis article is vry educatv tanks. Here is what d yorubas cal it, ADIAGBON. Dnt bite ur tongue. Lol
Natural Nigerian
Thanks Ewaoju, I will update the post with that information. Bite my tongue ke? I can say it six times fast…:)
Wale
Adiagbon is Coconut Oil
Adi Ekuro is PKO
Shakara
Thanks NN! It’s a very informative article!
Natural Nigerian
Thank you Shakara.
princess inameti
thanks for the info in the Efiks call it mmayanya, hope i got the spelling right.
Natural Nigerian
Thanks! Will update the post with the information.
princess inameti
ur welcome
Blessing Adedokun
I Am surprised @ all these yoruba translators but PKO is adin ekuro,not adinagbon which is coconut oil.(oil is adin in yoruba,and palm kernel is ekuro while coconut is agbon)coconut oil is more comonly found among yorubas than PKO.bcos pko is more stressful to make and takes in much kernels to produce little when compared wt coconut oil.Moreso,many people dont know how useful pko is,thanks to Natural nigerian….i must add dt posting ds responce was not easy,dnt mind if u culd something to that
Natural Nigerian
Thanks for explaining that. I am so sorry you had trouble submitting your comment. Thanks for letting me know.
curious kinks
Yes, Adin Agbon is Coconut oil, and adin ekuro is palm oil. I can’t believe an oil as white as glycerin can come from Palm Oil! I enjoyed eating palm kernel fruits as a child. Hmmm YUM!
aloted
ah just reading this comment..this is the right answer. palm kernel is ekuro
🙂
Natural Girl
Chei, you have brought back memories of eating aki in the Village. Looking forward to adding this oil to my Oil Arsenal..
aloted
thanks for this!
hmm someone mentioned to me once that adiagbon was coconut oil… hmmmm
guess they were wrong.
aloted
I just checked again o they said it is definitely coconut oil that is adiagbon.
confused.com
Natural Nigerian
Apparently not – the information has been updated thanks to reader comments.
aloted
ta!
I am always loyal and learning!
Nat
“you shouldn’t use Palm Oil on your hair. The oil to use is Palm Kernel Oil” ? I’m not so sure about that o…Minasek has great hair and she uses palmoil on her hair (for deep conditioning).
Natural Nigerian
I just saw that post. And she was using red oil too. Palm Oil will be rich in Lauric acid as well but it is not an oil you can leave in your hair. Obviously, it has to be used in a mix that will be washed off.
Nat
That makes sense…thanks for clarifying:)
Love
This is awesome! Weldone.
renee
i remember palm kernel oil being called ulaku in igbo language
Naija hair can grow
Love the article but as with many of the natural products you talk about on your blog, I am absolutely clueless as to where to buy PKO in Lagos. Is it in the market? Which market if so? Pls help I’d love to join the natural product band wagon 🙂
princess inameti
natural nigerian stocks most of the products we talk about here.
Naija hair can grow
Cool, I just saw your marketplace section will check it out
nkyiyke
Good Job Natural Nigerian. Love your write up. You kept talking about the contents,significance and the importance of PKO, Coconut oil and all but nothing was said about the preparation of any.
I would like to know how one can extract these oils locally as in from my own very kitchen or maybe as a guy…..you don’t know?
I have been trying to get these information from the internet but i am not getting the real thing.
Would be glad if you can give me detailed information as you did above.
Thanks
Natural Nigerian
Thank you!
My blog sister, Screwy Haired Girl has a recipe for Coconut Oil. I imagine you can use the same for Palm Kernel Oil. To go to her site, click here
Oshobukola
Good one. Thanks for d write up. I will like to know if it is possible to produce palm kernel oil in my kitchen. And is there also a difference between bleached palm oil and normal Palm kernel oil as used in soap production?
Natural Nigerian
Thanks! It is not impossible to produce Palm Kernel oil in your kitchen if you have the tool for pressing out the oil from the palm nuts.
There is a fundamental difference. Palm Oil – Bleached or not is made from the flesh of the palm kernel fruit. Palm Kernel Oil is from the nut inside.
Kanife
I love it
judith
Pls what is the igbo or ika name of raw cocoa butter? Thanks
Natural Nigerian
I really don’t know.
Palm Kernel Oil – not such an underdog!
Mne
Morning. I need ACV 32oz, hemp seed oil, castor oil(homehealth or heritage-perfect) I saw the prices at the Ahia. Lagos delivery rate is 500. For 3 items 1500, if I read right. I also wonder if the prices at the Ahia are the current.I have a relation in Lagos, who can take delivery for me.
Natural Nigerian
Hello Mne, the delivery for all your items is N500. We don’t compound it per item. The prices in the Ahia are up-to-date. Just send a mail with your order to orders@naturalnigerian.com and we will take it from there. Thanks!
Mne
Oh! happy, happy, happy
obylicious
I was really educated on the page.in my village we used to call PKO ude aki in ibo language.
nelly
Thanks for bringing the natural products to lime light ,NN you are doing a good job.may God bless you.
Natural Nigerian
Aww, thank you Nelly. We are in it together.
Raaz
Can you Tell Me Oil Content
minimum % & maximum%
palm oil Vs palm kernel oil content / oil %
Stephenie
thanks for the teaching on difference btw PO and PKO. apart from hair, ARE there any other uses of palm kernel oil extract. How can the oil be extracted from the seed.?
Ghanaian recipe: red-red
meg
l make palm kernel oil at home. It has various health benefits like easing of chest pain,general body massage ,smoothening of skin,etc.
Abidoye Wale
Thank you, it was a eye-opener for some of us that was born in the city.
Han
Palm kernel oil is called ‘adin dudu’ in yoruba (my area).
Augustina
U ar correct. It is Adi did in Yoruba. Adi agbon is coconut oil which is different from Palm kernel oil.
chidinma
Nice one, but having be thinking can’t d palm kennel oil be refined to cooking oil
Natural Nigerian
Hi, it definitely can. Some people use it for that purpose.
sekeenah
Good job!keep it up
Natural Nigerian
Thank you Sekeenah
Bebe
Hi NN, I’m a fan and I just got delivery of my Neem oil and other products! I’m kinda surprised you said not to use red palm oil on the hair because I do use it. I read about the hair benefits online and decided to try it out. I must confess it leaves my hair very soft and I noticed growth. I actually use it to deep-condition and then wash off with dudu-osun soap.
Natural Nigerian
Thank you for pointing this out. I have removed that from the post. We live to learn.
favour
dis is awesome..bt i nid more
Nel
Really insightful article. I’m on a journey of discovery of palm kernel oil, how it can be used as a hair and skin care product. I know that shea butter affects variuos skin types in the sense of making some one fair darker or someone who is dark darker than their normal shade or probably not affecting one’s shade at all, so I’m just wondering if palm kernel oil those the same because I know using coconut oil it doesn’t affect one’s ones skin shade. So what’s your info on this? Just like Chidinma I’ve also been thinking of the possibility of using it to cook like make stew or something after all people use olive oil, cotton seed oil and all sorts of all.
Jiff Luxury Watches
Hello house!!! Kudos to everyone that has contributed in one way or the other. Please, I will like to understand the Yoruba translation of Palm Kernel Cake (PKC) and Dried Kola Testa (DKT). Thanx
Serena
Hello NN,
Do you know where in Lagos one may find PKO, or the seeds? In fact where in Nigeria May one find PKO.
Regards
Wilson
PKO is called ori ibi in Urhobo
adedoyin
Hi guys…. Been doing a lot of research on the native names for these oils. Coconut oil – Adin Agbon
Palm kernel oil – Adin Eyan
Black palm kernel oil – Adi Dudu
Palm oil – Epo Pupa still on research for castor oil.
Deborah
Castor Oil is known as Adin ilara/ ilarum/ iru
Check on this Facebook page: CPHA Nigeria- You and Your health. Cheers
davis
pls do u know any local factory where I can buy pko ,,place that are close to ikotun,,, pls drop up reply in my box. Thks
funmi ogboli
Thanks for the info, palm kennel oil is called Adin dudu in Yoruba. I Heard it can be used to bring down high temperature, don’t know how true that is.can anyone confirm? Thanks.
Augustina
U ar correct. It is Adi dudu in Yoruba. Adi agbon is coconut oil which is different from Palm kernel oil.
Emascolino
thx aloz foh brief xplanetn on palm oil n palm kernel oil.
Summade
Yes, my mom mixes it with kerosene as a first-aid to bring down temperature. Pls where can we get the oils in Lagos? Thanks!
Natural Nigerian
Kerosene really should not be ingested or even applied to the skin. Just the PKO is fine. You can buy from our online shop: naturalnigerian.com/ahia.
Thank you.
Deborah
Castor Oil is known as Adin ilara/ ilarum/iru. Check on this Facebook page: CPHA Nigeria: You and Your health
maimuna
Alayyadi pko I think is the most wonderful natural oil. it work wonder to our african natural hair.
onome Okah-Avae
Can you use banga oil for your hair?
Natural Nigerian
Hi Onome, some people do. But I think it is rather messy and so not worth the effort.
Love
Please do you know how I can get pure castor oil?
Abubakar Jabbo Mohammes
Palm kernel in hausa means kwakwar manja
Ada creative
Thanks for this post dear, in ekpeye dailect of Rivers state is called OGA-OKUTA
SHIMA CLIFFORD
Thanks so much for the article, it has further informed my zeal and inspiration for my dream in agro business. The kernel oil is called in TIV language as AKWESHI
Biola
Adiagbon is coconut oil d clear one
Adi ekuro is palm kernel oil d brown one
Epo pupa is palm oil d red oil popular for cooking, f one for cooking beans…..simple explanation
Bummie
This is very educative, you have done a wonderful job. I what to learn abt how to produce the palm kernel oil. How do go about it. Help
Mohammed
Very educative, the Hausa name is Man alayyadi., which is different from man ja ( palm oil), and man kwakwa which is coconut oil
Teresa
It would be helpful to know the relative cholesterol and saturated fat levels in the two palm oils.
Natural Nigerian
Yes, it will.