The ucuuba butter (Virola sebifera) has a high-melting-point (53 °C) and saponification value (220 mg KOH / g oil), which exceeds the rates of beef tallow (with values from 43 to 45 °C and 200 mg KOH / g respectively) makes of ucuuba butter an ideal raw material to replace the animal tallow for the production of fine soaps, and other fatty substances in need of high melting point in the food and pharmaceutical industry.

The replacement of animal tallow through vegetable butter of ucuuba solve the problem of contamination of products by the use of animal tallow and even gives to the soaps more consistency and durability. Its employment is perfectly feasible even with higher prices than of animal tallow.

Virola sebifera is a tall, thin tree which grows 5–30 m (16–98 ft) tall. The leaves are simple and grow up to 30 cm (12 in) long. The small flowers are single-sexed and are found in panicles. The fruit is reddish, oval-shaped, and about 10–15 mm (0.39–0.59 in) long and about 11 mm (0.43 in) in diameter. The individual Virola trees, which include 40 to 60 species, are difficult to differentiate from one another.

The seeds are rich in fat (60 – 70%) having 70% of trimeristine, a triglycerides of myristic acid which is an aromatic essential oil having a great importance to the cosmetic, pharmaceutical and food industry. Currently, this essential oil is extracted from the nutmeg, which has a concentration of about 80% of this agent.