Preparation and Characterisation of Indigenous Tengkawang (Shorea Stenoptera) Butter for Food and Cosmetics Material

Tengkawang is an indigenous plant that has potential as a source of vegetable fat. The quality of tengkawang fat is traditionally low. This study aims to reduce free fatty acid (FFA) and physicochemical analysis of tengkawang fat and compare it with shea butter. The purification process of tengkawang includes degumming, neutralization, and bleaching. The FFA levels (%) before and after purification in tengkawang and shea butter were 7.75 and 2.28 for tengkawang butter and 0.47 and 0.18 for shea butter. Peroxide numbers (meq O2 / kg sample) before and after refining in tengkawang butter and shea butter were 9.54 to 3.61 for tengkawang and 10.31 to 4.84 for shea butter. The saponification number of tengkawang butter was higher than shea butter, while the iodine number of tengkawang butter was lower than shea butter. The fatty acids in tengkawang butter are dominated by oleic acid, stearic acid, and palmitic acid, while the fatty acids in shea butter are dominated by oleic acid, stearic acid, and a little linoleic acid. After the refining process, tengkawang fat's quality complies with the Indonesian Raw Material Trade Standard (SNI 2903: 2016). This study indicates that tengkawang butter can be used as a raw material for the food and cosmetic industry. Keywords: tengkawang butter, free fatty acid, shea butter.