Educational information, not medical advice — ask your doctor or midwife.
Sacha inchi is the seed of an Amazon vine, Plukenetia volubilis. It is eaten as a roasted snack, pressed into oil, or milled into protein powder. People mainly take it for its plant omega-3 fat.
It is often called Inca peanut or mountain peanut. It is not a true peanut and is not in the peanut family. The seeds grow inside star-shaped pods on a climbing vine.
Raw seeds are not food. They cause stomach cramps and vomiting, so they are always roasted first.
Here is the honest verdict on the evidence. Human trials are few, small and short. Long use as a traditional food is not proof that it treats any illness, and it is not proof that high supplement doses are safe.
Sacha inchi oil is one of the richest plant sources of alpha-linolenic acid (ALA, the plant form of omega-3 fat).
Your body can turn ALA into the longer omega-3 fats found in fish. In most people that conversion is small. So sacha inchi is not a like-for-like swap for fish oil.
In a small human trial, the oil shifted blood fats a little over several months. The changes were modest and the group was tiny.
In lab and animal work, the oil appears to lower some inflammation signals and to slow fat build-up in the liver. Whether any of this happens in people has not been shown.
The protein left after pressing is high in cysteine and tryptophan. It is a useful protein source, but no treatment effect has been proven for it.
Roasted seeds are the most common form. They are sold plain, salted, or coated in chocolate.
Cold-pressed oil is the main supplement form. It comes in bottles for kitchen use and in softgel capsules.
Protein powder is made from the seed cake left after pressing. It is used in shakes and baked goods.
Sacha inchi also turns up in snack bars, spreads and skin oils. In parts of Peru the leaves have been brewed as a tea, but this form is rare elsewhere.
The oil has a low smoke point. It is sold for drizzling and dressings rather than frying.
Peoples of the Peruvian and Ecuadorian Amazon grew sacha inchi for food long before the Inca empire. Seed and pod shapes appear on Moche and Chimu pottery.
Traditional use centred on the roasted seed as a staple fat and protein. Cooks also pressed the oil for the table.
Some groups rubbed the oil on dry skin, hair and sore muscles. Written records of healing use are sparse and short on detail.
The crop drew outside interest from the 1980s, once lab work showed how much omega-3 the oil held. It is now farmed in Peru and nearby countries for export as a food and supplement.
Stop and get emergency help if you get swelling of the lips, face or throat, hives, or trouble breathing. These can be signs of a serious allergic reaction.
See a doctor if vomiting or diarrhoea keeps going, or if you cannot keep fluids down.
Speak to a doctor if you notice unusual bruising, nosebleeds or bleeding gums while taking high-dose oil with a blood thinner.
If you are taking it for cholesterol, ask your doctor to check your blood rather than assuming it is working.
In the United States, sacha inchi is sold as an ordinary food and as a dietary supplement. The FDA does not approve such products before sale.
In the European Union, sacha inchi seed oil was cleared as a novel food in 2013. In the United Kingdom, Canada and Australia it is handled as a food ingredient, not a medicine.
Evidence grades and traditional-use labels are explained in our methodology. Nothing here is medical advice.
Reviewed by the HealisticMD editorial team How we grade evidence →
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