Ingredient: Organic Capuacu Butter
Organic Cupuacu Butter
Organic Cupuacu Butter (Theobroma Grandiflorum)
This wonderful ingredient that can act as a powerful relief for sore paws comes from the cupuaçu tree. It is native to the Amazon rainforest and can be traced to the cacao, which is the tree from which cocoa beans are derived.
These cupuaçu trees can grow quite large, up to 60 feet and taller in some instances. They produce some incredible fruit that contain sweet and sour pulp and many seeds that offer nutritional value.
The cupuaçu is a traditional food source for many parts of Brazil and even in Cuba where it is commonly cultivated. When the fruit of the cupuacu tree are ripe, they fall to the ground where they are then collected by local farmers. The butter is extracted from the fruit through a process of cold-pressing.
Why Use Cupuaçu Butter as Relief for Sore Paws
There are plenty of reasons why a dog’s paws can become dry, cracked, and painful. Even under the best of conditions (such as a nicely maintained lawn where the dog can run freely), a dog’s paws can be put under intense abuse from dirt, fertilizers, the harsh properties of hardwood floors, concrete walkways, and more.
These all begin to take a toll on the paws and cause them to dry out, much like a person’s hands would if they didn’t take care of them. However, for dogs, dry paws can be incredibly painful.
Essential Properties of Cupuaçu Butter
One of the main properties that make cupuaçu butter such an important ingredient for dogs as relief for sore paws is cholesterol. This might appear to be something bad, especially for people and dogs, but cholesterol is a main component of skin.
Cholesterol acts as a protective barrier for a dog’s paws as well, but there is an important stipulation to keep in mind: if you were to apply cholesterol directly to a dog’s paws or skin, it would likely burn and feel uncomfortable, but with cupuacu butter, there’s no worry.
One of the most significant issues with regard to a dog’s paws is that they can dry out, just like your skin. Providing the right type of moisturizer to it can make all the difference in the world and cupuacu butter acts as a natural moisturizer.
The active ingredients that make cupuaçu butter so effective as relief for sore paws are:
- Saturated and unsaturated fatty acids
- Stearic acid
- Olelic acid
- Palmitic acid
- Arachidonic acid
The phytochemicals that make up cupuaçu butter include:
- Tannins
- Sulphated flavone glycosides theograndins I and II
- Flavenoids such as:
- Catechins
- Quercetin
- Kampferol
- Isicutellarein
Parts Used
The fruit of the cupuaçu tree is cold pressed into the butter form, so most of the fruit itself is being used in this situation.
History of Cupuaçu Butter
The cupuaçu tree has long been a part of the natural Amazon rainforest ecology and has only relatively recently been cultivated. It is an important part of diet for people throughout parts of South and Central America and the positive impact that cupuaçu butter can have on overall skin health and as a paw soother and rejuvenator has only been relatively recently discovered.
References:
http://www.ingredientstodiefor.com/item/Cupacu_Butter/804/
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cupua%C3%A7u/
http://www.ninenaturals.com/ingredient-glossary/
Yang, H.; Protiva, P.; Cui, B.; Ma, C.; Baggett, S.; Hequet, V.; Mori, S.; Weinstein, I. B.; Kennelly, E. J. (2003). “New bioactive polyphenols from Theobroma grandiflorum (“cupuaçu”)”. Journal of Natural Products 66 (11): 1501–1504. doi:10.1021/np034002j. PMID 14640528.