Crop description. Dipteryx odorata—commonly known as sarapia, tonka bean, amburana, aumana, yape, charapilla, and cumaru—belongs to the family Leguminacea and grows in tropical areas (see Fig. 4.13). Major producing countries are Guianas and Venezuela. The tonka bean is the seed of a large tree. The kernel contains up to 46% oil on a dry basis. Major fatty acid composition of oil includes palmitic acid (6.1%), stearic acid (5.7%), oleic acid (59.6%), and linoleic acid (51.4%) [77].

Main uses. The oil is used in perfumery and as a flavoring material. Tonka extracts are used in the tobacco industry to impart a particular aroma. Few attempts have been made to use it as a raw material to pro­duce biodiesel. Abreu et al. conducted methanolysis of cumaru oil using different homogeneous metal (Sn, Pb, and Zn) complexes as catalysts. They found that pyrone complexes of different metals are active for cumaru-oil transesterification reaction [122].