title: Triacylglycerol and triterpene ester composition of shea nuts from seven African countries.
abstract: The compositions of the triacylglycerol (TAG) and triterpene ester (TE) fractions of the kernel fats (n-hexane extracts; shea butter) of the shea tree (Vitellaria paradoxa; Sapotaceae) were determined for 36 samples from seven sub-Saharan countries, i.e., Cote d' Ivoire, Ghana, Nigeria, Cameroun, Chad, Sudan, and Uganda. The principal TAGs are stearic-oleic-stearic (SOS; mean 31.2%), SOO (27.7%), and OOO (10.8%). The TE fractions contents are in the range of 0.5-6.5%, and contain α-amyrin cinnamate (1c; mean 29.3%) as the predominant TE followed by butyrospermol cinnamate (4c; 14.8%), α-amyrin acetate (1a; 14.1%), lupeol cinnamate (3c; 9.0%), β-amyrin cinnamate (2c; 7.6%), lupeol acetate (3a; 7.2%), butyrospermol acetate (4a; 5.8%), and β-amyrin acetate (2a; 4.9%). Shea kernel fats from West African provenances contained, in general, higher levels of high-melting TAGs such as SOS, and higher amount of TEs than those from East African provenances. No striking regional difference in the composition of the TE fractions was observed.
authors.affiliation: College of Science and Technology, Nihon University, Tokyo, Japan. akihisa@chem.cst.nihon-u.ac.jp
authors.forename: Toshihiro
authors.initials: T
authors.lastname: Akihisa
authors.forename: Nobuo
authors.initials: N
authors.lastname: Kojima
authors.forename: Naoko
authors.initials: N
authors.lastname: Katoh
authors.forename: Takashi
authors.initials: T
authors.lastname: Kikuchi
authors.forename: Makoto
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Fukatsu
authors.forename: Naoto
authors.initials: N
authors.lastname: Shimizu
authors.forename: Eliot T
authors.initials: ET
authors.lastname: Masters
mesh_terms: D000349:Africa; D005591:Chemical Fractionation; D002851:Chromatography, High Pressure Liquid; D004952:Esters / Q000032:analysis* / Q000737:chemistry; D013058:Mass Spectrometry; D009754:Nuts / Q000737:chemistry*; D029632:Sapotaceae / Q000737:chemistry*; D014280:Triglycerides / Q000032:analysis* / Q000737:chemistry; D014315:Triterpenes / Q000032:analysis* / Q000737:chemistry
chemical_list: D004952:Esters; D014280:Triglycerides; D014315:Triterpenes