Improving the optimized shea butter quality: a great potential of utilization for common consumers and industrials

Abstract

Industrials interest in fats as raw material, resides in their exceptional quality and potentialities of exploitation in several fields. This study aimed to exalt the optimized shea butter quality and present its wide potentialities of utilization. Hence, the characteristics of beige and yellow optimized shea butters were determined. Both samples recorded very weak acid (0.280 ± 0.001 and 0.140 ± 0.001 mgKOH/g) and peroxide (0.960 ± 0.001 and 1.010 ± 0.001 mEgO2/kg) indexes, when the iodine indexes (52.64 ± 0.20 and 53.06 ± 0.20 gI2/100 g) and the unsaponifiable matters (17.61 ± 0.01 and 17.27 ± 0.01 %) were considerable. The refractive indexes (1.454 ± 0.00 and 1.453 ± 0.00) and the pH (6.50 ± 0.30 and 6.78 ± 0.30) were statistically similar; but the specific gravity (0.915 ± 0.01–0.79 ± 0.01 and 0.94 ± 0.01–0.83 ± 0.01) and the viscosity (90.41 ± 0.20–20.02 ± 0.20 and 125.37 ± 0.20–23.55 ± 0.20 MPas) differed and decreased exponentially with the temperature increasing (35–65 °C), except for the specific gravity of the yellow butter which decreased linearly. The UV–Vis spectrum showed a high peak at 300 nm and a rapid decrease from 300 to 500 nm when the near infra-red one, revealed peaks at 450, 1200, 1400, 1725 and 2150 nm for all the samples. The chromatographic profile identified palmitic (16.42 and 26.36 %), stearic (32.39 and 36.36 %), oleic (38.12 and 29.09 %), linoleic (9.72 and 5.92 %) and arachidic (1.84 and 1.59 %) acids, and also exaltolide compound (1.51 and 0.68 %). The samples also contained essential minerals (Calcium, magnesium, zinc, iron, etc.) carotene (550 ± 50 and 544 ± 50 ppm), vitamins A (0.065 ± 0.001 and 0.032 ± 0.001 µg/g) and E (2992.09 ± 1.90 and 3788.44 ± 1.90 ppm) in relatively important amounts; neither microbiological germs nor heavy were detected. All these valorizing characteristics would confer to the optimized shea butters good aptitude for exportation and exploitation in food, cosmetic and pharmaceutical industries.

Mangifera sylvatica (Wild Mango): A new cocoa butter alternative

“…However, the extraction is only practiced at cottage scale and has no industrial application as yet 32 33 . Shea butter is known to have the highest unsaponifiable fat content (up to 10%) of any natural fat and the highest iodine value 52–56 (g Iodine/100 g fat) and is used as a cocoa butter substitute 34 in the European chocolate and confectionery industry 35 . Illipe and mango butters can be used directly as CBE and Mango Butter ( Mangifera indica ) is comparatively good quality CBEs although the melting point (34–43 °C) is quite high 20 31 .…”

Effect of adding shea butter stearin and emulsifiers on the physical properties of cocoa butter

“…UV‐Vis spectroscopy was used for the detection the fatty acids composition in shea butter. The main fatty acids of shea butter were palmitic acid (26.36%), stearic acid (36.36%), oleic acid (29.09%), linoleic acid (5.92%), and arachidic acid (1.59%; Megnanou & Niamke, 2015). As early as 1950s, Unilever began to mix shea butter with palm oil to prepare CBE (Blicher‐Mathiesn, 1994), but its chocolate products had a dull sell for the immature techniques in compatibility of the fat mixtures.…”

The Current State of Knowledge of Shea Butter Tree (Vitellaria paradoxa C.F.Gaertner.) for Nutritional Value and Tree Improvement in West and Central Africa

“…An unsaponifiable compound is a fraction identified in shea butter that does not dissolve in acetone. It could also be designated as a highly unsaturated compound that consists of a mixture of different polyisoprenes [121,122]. The average unsaponifiable content differs, depending on the authors, from 1.2% to 17.6% [112,123].…”