Agriculture Reference
In-Depth Information
the skin of the rats in the treatment group versus the control group.
1066
The LD
50
of the related spe-
cies
V. colorata
in mice is about 10 g/kg.
VITELLARIA PARADOXA
—
ShEa BUttEr trEE
Botanical Name —
Vitellaria paradoxa
C.F.Gaer t n
.
Synonyms —
Butyrospermum paradoxum
(Gaertn. F) Hepper,
B. parkii
(G. don) (Kotschy).
Family —
Sapotaceae
Common Name —
Shea butter tree
African Names —
Ewe: yo, yokuti; Hausa: kadanya; Igbo: osisi, ori, okwuma; Nupe: kochi;
Twi: kra-nku, nku; Wolof: karate; Yoruba: emi, emi-egidi
Description —
Vitellaria paradoxa
is a small tree that grows up to 14 m high. It has dark gray bark
that is rough and fissured and exudes white latex when cut. It is easily confused with
Lophira alata
.
The leathery leaves (22.5 × 8.5 cm) are borne in a cluster at the ends of the twigs. They are rounded at
both ends, although the base is sometimes wedge shaped. The young leaves are densely hairy, but the
older ones are sparsely hairy, becoming smooth with age. There are many lateral veins that spread out
almost at right angles to the margins. It produces fragrant flowers, which appear in clusters at the ends
of leafless twigs. They are whitish in color, and sepals are covered with pinkish hairs.
The fruits are yellow in color, ellipsoid, and 5 cm long and 2.5 cm broad. They usually contain
one oval-shaped seed, but at times two or three such seeds may be contained in a fruit. The seeds
are about 3 cm long, with a hard, bony seed coat and a shield-shaped scar, which is nearly as long
and as wide as the seed.
Habitat and Distribution —
It is common in the savanna areas of the continent. It is a major
crop in Sudan, Senegal, Ghana, Nigeria, Niger, and Chad.
Ethnomedicinal Uses —
The fat (shea butter) is used as an ointment for rheumatic pains and
boils. A decoction from the bark is used to facilitate child delivery and ease labor pains. The leaf
extract is dispensed for headaches and as an eye bath.
264
The seed decoction is used as a stimulant
and carminative.
Constituents —
The seeds contain an edible fat (shea butter), derived mainly from stearic acid
and oleic acid, that is used for a variety of purposes in Africa. The chemical study of the seeds
has revealed that they contain mostly palmitic, stearic, oleic, and linoleic acids, as stearodioleins,
oleodistearins and palmitostearin, trioleins, and possibly oleopalmitostearin.
1067
Mital has studied
the physicochemical properties of shea butter and reported that it melts at 37.8°C, and when heated
above 38.5°C, it is transformed to a more stable form, which takes 4 days to revert to the unstable
form. The melting point could be raised by the addition of either beeswax or hard paraffin.1068,1069
1068,1069
Pharmacological Studies and Uses
—
Shea butter is used for a variety of health purposes,
especially for skin care. It has been incorporated into many topical products and cosmetics for the
reduction of wrinkles, blemish reduction, treatment of stretch marks or hemorrhoids, as an antihis-
tamine, and as a vehicle for intradermal application of active pharmaceutical agents intended for the
treatment of subcutaneous diseases.
Commerce —
The shea tree grows naturally in West Africa, and it is a slow grower, taking up
to 20 years to bear its first fruits. The total volume of the West African trade in shea butter was about
US$1 million in 2012. The value chain for this product indicates that much of the processing and value
addition is done in Europe and the United States. The market value for the refined product is quite good,
with the selling price as follows: 1 pound naturally refined = $6.95; bulk purchases of up to 1760 pounds
= US$3484 ($1.98/pound). The products are graded from A to F depending on the quality as determined
by laboratory analysis of the triglycerides and fatty acid fraction, microorganism load, vitamins A and
E, melting point, and physical examination, including cleanliness and moisture content.
