Babassu oil: a saturated fat with a lauric acid story

Babassu oil is sold on one idea, that its fat is lighter because about half of it is lauric acid. The single USDA record behind this page gives total fat, saturated fat and vitamin E, not the lauric share. Lauric acid really does behave differently. In normal-weight men fed labeled fatty acids on a diet with 40 percent of energy as fat, 41 percent of a lauric dose was burned and breathed out within 9 hours, against 13 percent for stearate. The report does not say how many men were tested. That is the strongest finding on this page, and it is a fact about one fatty acid rather than about the oil. Every human study here tested lauric acid, mostly dripped straight into the duodenum of healthy volunteers, and none of them tested babassu oil. USDA holds a single reference record for the oil, with no measured samples behind it, putting it at 81.2 g of saturated fat per 3.5 oz (100 g), which is 406 percent of the Daily Value.

The numbers, per 3.5 oz (100 g)

How much is actually in it

• USDA holds a single reference record for babassu oil, at 81.2 g of saturated fat per 3.5 oz (100 g) or 406 percent of the Daily Value, and no measured sample range stands behind that number. — USDA SR Legacy reference record Oil, babassu, FDC 171428, Fats and Oils, per 3.5 oz (100 g) (n = 1 record) Evidence E source
  Saturated fat 81.2 g per 3.5 oz (100 g) = 406% DV, total fat 100 g = 128% DV, vitamin E 19.1 mg = 127% DV, Foundation Foods samples 0, CoFID match none

What your body absorbs

• Lauric acid is burned faster than any other dietary fatty acid tested, with 41 percent of a labeled dose recovered in breath within 9 hours against 13 percent for stearate. — normal-weight men on a weight-maintenance diet with 40 percent of energy as fat, fed 13C-labeled fatty acids at 10 mg per kg body weight in random order Evidence B source
  Cumulative 9-hour oxidation 41% of dose for laurate versus 13% for stearate
• Lauric acid eaten as a lauric-rich fat reaches human milk within 6 hours and peaks about 14 hours after the meal, measured in 14 lactating women each given six different test fats. — 14 lactating women drinking six test formulas in turn, each with a different fat including coconut oil, with milk sampled at 6, 10, 14 and 24 hours and then daily for 4 to 7 days (n = 14) Evidence C source
  Each marker fatty acid rose in milk within 6 hours, P < 0.001, peak at 14 hours for coconut oil, elevation held for 10 to 24 hours

What it does to your health

• Lauric acid delivered into the duodenum of 13 healthy men cut the next meal only at the highest of three doses, 0.4 calories per minute over 90 minutes, with 0.1 and 0.2 calories per minute doing nothing to energy intake. — 13 healthy men studied on 4 days, 90-minute intraduodenal infusions of lauric acid at 0.1, 0.2 or 0.4 calories per minute or saline, buffet meal immediately after (n = 13) Evidence B source
  Energy intake suppressed only at 0.4 calories/min versus control and versus the two lower doses, P < 0.05, with dose-dependent rises in CCK and GLP-1, r > 0.4
• At a load of 0.3 calories per minute lauric acid alone left energy intake unchanged in 16 healthy men, 1180 calories against 1232 calories for saline, and intake fell to 1056 calories only when L-tryptophan was added. — 16 healthy lean men, age 24 years, 90-minute intraduodenal infusions of saline, lauric acid 0.3 calories/min, L-tryptophan 0.1 calories/min or both, buffet meal immediately after (n = 16) Evidence B source
  Energy intake calories, control 1232 +/- 72, lauric acid 1180 +/- 82, tryptophan 1269 +/- 73, combination 1056 +/- 106, P < 0.05 for the combination only
• Lauric acid infused into the duodenum of 16 healthy lean men at 0.3 calories per minute for 90 minutes lowered the plasma glucose area under the curve against saline, and adding tryptophan bought nothing further. — 16 healthy lean men, BMI 22.9, four study days 3 to 10 days apart, 90-minute duodenal infusions of lauric acid 27 calories, L-tryptophan 9 calories, both, or isotonic saline (n = 16) Evidence B source
  Treatment effect on glucose AUC P < 0.01, lauric acid and the combination both below control at P < 0.05, no difference between the combination and lauric acid alone
• Pooled cohort data link the highest intake of dietary lauric acid with 11 percent lower risk of type 2 diabetes than the lowest, while total saturated fat intake shows no association at all. — 13 prospective cohort studies with 361686 participants and 11865 incident type 2 diabetes events, of which only 2 cohorts reported lauric acid separately (n = 361686) Evidence C source
  Lauric acid highest versus lowest HR 0.89, 95% CI 0.82 to 0.97, from 2 cohorts; total saturated fat HR 0.99, 95% CI 0.91 to 1.09, from 13 cohorts

Safety, limits and interactions

• NIH records no adverse effect from vitamin E taken in food, and the upper limit of 1000 mg a day is set for supplemental alpha-tocopherol rather than for the vitamin E carried in an oil. — adults, NIH Office of Dietary Supplements fact sheet on vitamin E for health professionals Evidence E source
  Upper limit 1000 mg per day of supplemental alpha-tocopherol, 1500 IU of the natural form, against 19.1 mg of vitamin E in 3.5 oz (100 g) of babassu oil
• In the evidence review behind the WHO saturated fat guideline, self-reported saturated fat intake showed a relative risk of 1.01 for cardiovascular disease per 5 percent of energy, pooled from 16 cohorts. — 16 prospective cohorts contributing 60629 cardiovascular events over 16227781 person-years of self-reported saturated fat intake (n = 60629 cases) Evidence C source
  Relative risk 1.01, 95% CI 0.94 to 1.08, per 5 percent of total energy from saturated fat, assuming linearity

What people believe that the data does not support

• The only health claim in the EU register that a babassu oil label could lean on is the generic one for foods low in saturated fat, since the register holds no entry for babassu, Orbignya or Attalea speciosa at all. — EU Register on nutrition and health claims, snapshot of 21 September 2026, 2330 claims of which 262 authorized (n = 1 authorized claim) Evidence E source
  Claim POL-HC-6378 authorized for foods with a low or reduced content of saturated fatty acids, while babassu oil at 81.2 g saturated fat per 3.5 oz (100 g) cannot meet that condition

Who this works differently for

• In 11 men with type 2 diabetes lauric acid on its own did not move postprandial glucose, and peak glucose fell from 200 to 177 mg/dL (11.1 to 9.8 mmol per liter) only when it was given with L-tryptophan. — 11 men with type 2 diabetes, age 69 years, HbA1c 51 mmol/mol, BMI 28, four crossover occasions of 45-minute duodenal infusions before a 500 calories mixed drink (n = 11) Evidence B source
  Peak plasma glucose mmol/l, control 11.1 +/- 0.6, tryptophan 10.3 +/- 0.5, lauric acid 10.7 +/- 0.6, combination 9.8 +/- 0.5, p = 0.01, with slower gastric emptying p = 0.001

The bottom line

Treat babassu oil as a saturated fat and the rest becomes easier to judge. Its vitamin E, 19.1 mg per 3.5 oz (100 g) or about 2.7 mg in a tablespoon, comes nowhere near the 1000 mg a day upper limit NIH sets for supplemental alpha-tocopherol, and NIH records no adverse effect from vitamin E taken in food. The appetite findings are weaker than they sound. Lauric acid infused into the duodenum of 13 healthy men for 90 minutes cut the next meal only at 0.4 calories per minute, the highest of three doses, and did nothing at 0.1 or 0.2. In 16 healthy lean men at 0.3 calories per minute it left the buffet meal where it was, 1180 calories against 1232 calories on saline, and intake dropped to 1056 calories only when L-tryptophan went in with it. The same infusion lowered the plasma glucose area under the curve against saline, measured during those 90 minutes rather than after a meal. In 11 men with type 2 diabetes lauric acid alone did not move peak glucose, and the fall from 200 to 177 mg/dL (11.1 to 9.8 mmol per liter) needed tryptophan as well. Observational data link the highest intake of dietary lauric acid with 11 percent lower risk of type 2 diabetes, hazard ratio 0.89 with an interval of 0.82 to 0.97. Only 2 of the 13 pooled cohorts reported that fatty acid separately, and what those people ate was dairy fat and coconut. In the review behind the WHO saturated fat guideline, self-reported saturated fat carried a relative risk of 1.01 for cardiovascular disease per 5 percent of energy, interval 0.94 to 1.08, across 16 cohorts. That is a null result about whole diets measured by questionnaire, and it does not overturn the WHO advice to keep saturated fat under 10 percent of energy. On who should be careful, this page is thin. Lauric acid from a lauric-rich fat reached the milk of 14 lactating women within 6 hours and peaked around 14 hours, in a study that used coconut oil as the carrier fat, so a nursing mother eating a lauric-rich fat passes that fatty acid into her milk the same day. We found nothing on allergy, on pregnancy or on drug interactions for this oil. The EU register holds no entry for babassu, Orbignya or Attalea speciosa, so the only claim a label could lean on is the generic one for foods low in saturated fat, which an oil at 81.2 g per 3.5 oz (100 g) cannot meet.

Sources

1. bbso-daily-r2-01 · USDA FoodData Central SR Legacy, dataset
   Oil, babassu (FDC 171428, sr_legacy, Fats and Oils): saturated fat 81.2 g per 100 g = 406% DV, total fat 100 g = 128% DV, vitamin E 19.1 mg = 127% DV, Foundation samples 0, CoFID match none
   USDA FoodData Central, SR Legacy, FDC 171428 · checked 2026-09-25
2. bbso-daily-r2-02 · randomized crossover trial in humans
   Cumulative oxidation over the 9-h test ranged from a high of 41% of the dose for laurate to a low of 13% of the dose for stearate. ... In summary, lauric acid is highly oxidized, whereas the polyunsaturated and monounsaturated fatty acids are fairly well oxidized.
   Am J Clin Nutr, 2000 · checked 2026-09-25
3. bbso-daily-r2-08 · crossover feeding study in humans
   Each of these fatty acids increased significantly in human milk within 6 h of consumption of the test formulas (P < 0.001). Maximum increases occurred 10 h after safflower oil; 14 h after cocoa utter, coconut oil, canola oil, and menhaden oil (eicosapentaenoic acid); and 24 h after herring oil and menhaden oil (docosahexaenoic acid).
   Am J Clin Nutr, 1998 · checked 2026-09-25
4. bbso-daily-r2-03 · randomized crossover trial in humans
   C12 dose-dependently stimulated IPPWs, decreased antral and duodenal motility, and stimulated secretion of CCK and GLP-1 (r > 0.4, P < 0.05 for all). C12 (0.4 kcal/min) suppressed energy intake compared with control, C12 (0.1 kcal/min), and C12 (0.2 kcal/min) (P < 0.05).
   Am J Physiol Regul Integr Comp Physiol, 2005 · checked 2026-09-25
5. bbso-daily-r2-04 · randomized crossover trial in humans
   C12 + Trp markedly reduced energy intake (kcal; control: 1,232 ± 72, C12: 1,180 ± 82, Trp: 1,269 ± 73, C12 + Trp: 1,056 ± 106) ... C12 and Trp each stimulated CCK (P < 0.05), but to a lesser degree than C12 + Trp, and did not suppress energy intake or ghrelin.
   Am J Clin Nutr, 2019 · checked 2026-09-25
6. bbso-daily-r2-05 · randomized crossover trial in humans
   There was an effect of treatment on glucose AUC (p < 0.01) (Table 1, Figure 1A). C12 and C12+Trp, but not Trp, reduced the plasma glucose AUC compared with control (both p < 0.05), with no significant differences between C12+Trp and C12 or Trp.
   Nutrients, 2019 · checked 2026-09-25
7. bbso-daily-r2-07 · meta-analysis of cohort studies
   However, the risk of T2DM decreased by 11% in the highest compared with the lowest category of dietary lauric acid (HR = 0.89; 95% CI: 0.82, 0.97; n = 2), and by 17% in the highest compared with lowest category of dietary myristic acid (MA) (HR = 0.83; 95% CI: 0.74, 0.92; n = 3).
   Adv Nutr, 2022 · checked 2026-09-25
8. bbso-daily-r2-09 · NIH ODS fact sheet
   Research has not found any adverse effects from consuming vitamin E in food [6]. ... Doses of up to 1,000 mg/day (1,500 IU/day of the natural form or 1,100 IU/day of the synthetic form) in adults appear to be safe, although the data are limited and based on small groups of people taking up to 3,200 mg/day of alpha-tocopherol for only a few weeks or months.
   NIH Office of Dietary Supplements, Vitamin E Fact Sheet for Health Professionals · checked 2026-09-25
9. bbso-daily-r2-10 · meta-analysis of cohort studies
   Data were available from 16 cohorts of 60 629 cases during 16 227 781 PY. Assuming linearity, the relative risk of a 5% increase in SFA was 1.01 (95% CI: 0.94 to 1.08).
   WHO, Saturated fat and trans-fat intakes and their replacement with other macronutrients, 2022 · checked 2026-09-25
10. bbso-daily-r2-11 · EU health claim register entry
    POL-HC-6378 Foods with a low or reduced content of saturated fatty acids Reducing consumption of saturated fat contributes to the maintenance of normal blood cholesterol levels Authorised
    EU Register on nutrition and health claims, claim POL-HC-6378, snapshot 2026-09-21 · checked 2026-09-25
11. bbso-daily-r2-06 · randomized crossover trial in humans
    C12+Trp, but not C12 or Trp, reduced overall (p=0.02) and peak (mmol/l; control: 11.1 ± 0.6, Trp: 10.3 ± 0.5, C12: 10.7 ± 0.6, C12+Trp: 9.8 ± 0.5; p=0.01) plasma glucose.
    Diabetologia, 2026 · checked 2026-09-25