Bixa orellana, also known as achiote, is a shrub native to Central America. Bixa orellana is grown in many countries worldwide.
The tree is best known as the source of annatto, a natural orange-red condiment (also called or ) obtained from the waxy arils that cover its seeds. The ground seeds are widely used in traditional dishes in Central and South America, Mexico, and the Caribbean, such as cochinita pibil, chicken in , , and . Annatto and its extracts are also used as an industrial food coloring to add yellow or orange color to many products such as butter, cheese, margarine, ice creams, meats, and condiments. Some of the indigenous peoples of North, Central, and South American originally used the seeds to make red body paint and lipstick, as well as a spice. For this reason, the Bixa orellana is sometimes called the lipstick tree.
Etymology and common names
The name, Bixa orellana, was given by Linnaeus. The botanical genus name derives from the aboriginal Taíno word "bixa", while the specific epithet was derived in honor of the Amazon explorer Francisco de Orellana, an early explorer of the Amazon River. The name achiote derives from the Nahuatl word for the shrub, . It may also be referred to as , or by its original Tupi name , or ("red color"), which is also used for the body paint prepared from its seeds. Colloquial names include bija, roucou, orellana, annatto, achiote, and many other names used regionally. The nickname, "lipstick tree", derived from use of the dye as a cosmetic.
Description
Bixa orellana is a perennial, tall shrub that can reach high. It bears clusters of bright white or pink flowers, resembling single wild roses, that appear at the tips of the branches. The fruits of the Bixa orellana are globular, ovoid capsules arranged in clusters resembling spiky looking red-brown seed pods covered in soft spines. Each capsule, or pod, contains 30–45 cone-shaped seeds covered in a thin waxy blood-red aril. When fully mature, the pod dries, hardens, and splits open, thereby exposing the seeds.
The shrub is most well known as the source of the red-orange annatto pigment. The pigment is derived from the pericarp (the waxy aril layer that covers the seeds) of the Bixa orellana fruit. The red-orange annatto dye is rich in the carotenoid pigments, 80% which consists of bixin (the red pigment) and norbixin or orelline (the yellow pigment). Annatto oil contains tocotrienols, beta-carotene, essential oils, saturated and unsaturated fatty acids, flavonoids, and vitamin C.
Distribution
Although the exact origin of Bixa orellana is unknown, it is native to northern South America and the Central American tropics: "it is said to be indigenous by Seemann on the northwest coast of Mexico and Panama, by Triana in New Granada, by Meyer in Dutch Guiana, and by Piso and Claussen in Brazil". Additionally, Bixa orellana is found in substantial wild and cultivated acreages from Mexico to Ecuador, Brazil, and Bolivia. Although an invasive species, it is cultivated in many world regions.
During the 16th and 17th centuries, the annatto dye was distributed to Southeast Asia, Africa, the Caribbean, Hawaii and southeastern North America in tropical and subtropical regions through trading exchanges. It became cultivated in tropical regions of Asia, such as India, Sri Lanka, and Java mainly for the dye which the seeds yield.
Cultivation
Bixa orellana grows easily in subtropical to tropical climates, in frost-free regions sheltered from cool winds. It prefers year-round moisture, good drainage, and moderately fertile soil in full sun or partial shade. It can be propagated from seed and cuttings. Cutting-grown plants flower at a younger age than seedlings.
The main commercial producers of B. orellana are countries in Latin America (specifically Peru, Brazil and Mexico), which constitute 60% of total world production followed by Africa (27% of total world production) and Asia (12% of total world production). Production statistics are not usually available and would not provide a reliable guide to international trade, since many of the producing countries use significant quantities domestically (e.g., Brazil is a large producer and consumer, needing additional imports). Annual world production of dried annatto seed at the beginning of the 21st century was estimated at about 10,000 tons, of which 7,000 tons enter international trade. Peru is the largest exporter of annatto seed, annually about 4,000 tons; Brazil the largest producer, with about 5,000 tons. Kenya exports annually about 1,500 tons annatto seed and extracts and is the second-largest exporter, after Peru. Côte d'Ivoire and Angola are also exporters.