Carnauba (/kɑːrˈnɔːbə, -ˈnaʊ-, -ˈnuː-, -nɑːˈuː-/;[1][2] Portuguese: carnaúba [kaʁnaˈubɐ]), also called Brazil wax and palm wax, is a wax of the leaves of the carnauba palm Copernicia prunifera (synonym: Copernicia cerifera), a plant native to and grown only in the northeastern Brazilian states of Ceará, Piauí, Paraíba, Pernambuco, Rio Grande do Norte, Maranhão and Bahia.[3] It is known as the "Queen of Waxes".[4] In its pure state, it is usually available in the form of hard yellow-brown flakes. It is obtained by collecting and drying the leaves, beating them to loosen the wax, then refining and bleaching it.[5] As a food additive, its E number is E903.
- ^ "carnauba". The Chambers Dictionary (9th ed.). Chambers. 2003. ISBN 0-550-10105-5.
- ^ "Carnauba". Random House Webster's Unabridged Dictionary
- ^ Steinle, J. Vernon (September 1936). "Carnauba wax: an expedition to its source". Industrial & Engineering Chemistry. 28 (9): 1004–1008. doi:10.1021/ie50321a003.
- ^ Parish, Edward J.; Terrence L. Boos; Shengrong Li (2002). "The Chemistry of Waxes and Sterols". In Casimir C. Akoh, David B. Min. (ed.). Food lipids: chemistry, nutrition, and biochemistry (2nd ed.). New York: M. Dekker. p. 103. ISBN 0-8247-0749-4.
- ^ Associacao Caatinga, BMU-IKI/GIZ (2019). "Good Practices Manual for the Carnauba supply chain" (PDF). Archived from the original (PDF) on 2019-12-05. Retrieved 2019-12-05.