Fatty Acid Content of Shea Seeds from Nigeria

F.D UGESEI, K. P. BAIYERI2 & B.N. MBAH2

1 Department of Crop Production, University of Agriculture, Makurdi,

Nigeria

2 Department of Crop Science, University of Nigeria, Nsukka, Nigeria

Shea fat an important product from the shea tree.

Has different uses: Illumination Bone setting Food industry Cosmetic industry

BACKGROUND Fatty acid composition determines

end use of shea fat: Hard butter – chocolate industry Soft butter – cosmetic industry Not much information about fatty

acid variation across Nigerian shea belt.

Objective Determination of fatty acid composition

of shea fat across the Nigeria savannah.

MATERIALS AND METHODS

Samples collected from 9 locations across the savannah.

o Ilorin, Lokoja, Makurdi, Akwanga, Minna (Southern Guinea Savannah)

o Jalingo, Kachia (Northern Guinea Savannah) o Yola and Kano (Sudan Savannah) 15-25 trees sampled per location. Fat extracted with petroleum ether. Fatty acid determination by gas

chromatography.

Analysis of variance Mean separation by DNMRT

Agroecological zone

Stearic acid (%)

Oleic acid (%)

Linoleic acid (%)

Palmitic acid (%)

Southern guinea savanna

46.3b 41.8b 6.6a 4.3a

Northern guinea savanna

48.2a 39.7c 6.9a 4.4a

savanna 46.1b 42.1ab 6.5a 4.6a

Table 1. Fatty acid composition of Nigerian shea butter based on agroecological zone

Means within a column followed by the same letter(s) are not significantly different according to Duncan’s New Multiple Range Test at P = 0.05

Accession

Stearic acid (%)

Oleic acid (%)

Linoleic acid (%)

Palmitic acid (%)

Lokoja 45.1d 43.4a 6.5b 4.2ab Makurdi 47.0abc 41.3d 6.5b 3.7c Akwanga 46.6abc 42.2bc 6.1bc 3.9bc Minna 46.5abc 40.2e 7.2a 5.4a Kachia 46.7abc 42.2bc 6.3b 4.1ab Jalingo 49.7a 37.2f 7.4a 4.6a Yola 46.2bc 42.7a 5.8c 4.6a

46.0bc 41.5bcd 7.2a 4.5a

Table 2. Fatty acid composition of Nigerian shea butter based on accession

Means within a column followed by the same letter(s) are not significantly different according to Duncan’s New Multiple Range Test at P = 0.05

Stearic acid: 45.1 - 49.7% Oleic acid: 37.2 – 43.4% Linoleic acid: 5.8 - 7.4% Palmitic acid: 3.7 - 5.4% Stearic + Oleic + Linoleic +

Palmitic acid: 97.1 – 99.3%

CONCLUSION

Nigerian shea fat dominated by stearic acid.

The shea fat most suited for the food

industry.

More populations could be sampled to get more information on butter fatty acid composition.

Could help in easy sourcing of butter

for the different end uses.

KEY REFERENCE Ugese, F. D., Baiyeri, K. P. and Mbah, B. N. 2010. Fatty acid profile of the fat of shea butter tree (Vitellaria paradoxa C. F. Gaertn.) seeds obtained from the savanna of Nigeria. Forests, Trees and Livelihoods 19: 393-398

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