Journal
JOURNAL OF AGRICULTURAL AND FOOD CHEMISTRY
Volume 52, Issue 10, Pages 2934-2937Publisher
AMER CHEMICAL SOC
DOI: 10.1021/jf035194r
Keywords
Shea butter; tocopherols; temperature effects; antioxidants; Africa
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The shea tree, Vitellaria paradoxa Gaertner, is the source of a commercial seed fat known as shea butter. High-performance liquid chromatography (HPLC) analysis of the tocopherol content of shea butters from different regions of Africa showed high variability between provenances and a significant effect of climate on alpha-tocopherol levels. The total tocopherol content (alpha, beta, gamma, and delta) in 102 shea butter samples from 11 countries ranged from 29 to 805 mug/g of shea butter, with a mean of 220 mug/g. alpha-Tocopherol, the principal form detected, averaged 64% of the total tocopherol content. Shea butters from Vitellaria populations situated in hot, dry climates had the highest levels of alpha-tocopherol (for example, a mean of 414 mug/g in samples from N'Djamena, Chad). The lowest concentrations of a-tocopherol were found in samples from cool highland areas, especially in northern Uganda (a mean of 29 mug/g).
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