African Butter Vs. Shea Butter

There is a new butter in the market that confuses many consumers. Some promoters think or call it shea butter others provide various names. I have provided you the differences in the African Butter and Shea Butter. Both come from Africa, The African Butter grows in the low lands close to rivers, and is often called river butter. Shea Butter, on the other hand grows in the highlands where it’s high and dry. One of the most important differences between the two is healing fraction (bioactive). In Shea butter the healing fraction (bioactive) can be 300 to 400 times larger than the healing fraction in river butter.

	Shea Butter	African Butter
Color	Faintly yellow /Ivory Beige	Mustard Yellow
Size of Moisturizing Fraction	94 to 97 %	98 to 99%
Size of Healing fraction	Large 3 – 6 %	Small 1 – to 2 %
Botanical Name	Vitellaria Paradoxa	Pentadesma butyraceaS
Former name	Butyrospermum parkii
Botanical Family	Sapotaceae.	Clusiaceae
Area of Growth	Dry Arid highlands	Rivers and lowlands Rain forest
Oleic acid (18: 1)	43.45%	48-51%
Stearic acid	42 – 44%	41-46%
Palmitic acid (C16:0)	3-6 %	3-8%
palmitoleic acid(C16: 1	-0-%	-0.2%
arachidonic acid (C20: 0)-	1.2 – 1.7%	0.5%
Linoleic acid (18: 2)-	4 – 6 %	0-2%
Common names	Shea butterKariteBerry Butter	River Butter, Kanga ButterAfrican Butter, Tree tallowSierra Leone Butter
Tree name	Shea treeKarite treeTree of Life	Butter TreeTallow TreeCandle Tree,
African Distribution	Serra Leone to CongoWet Rain forest	Senegal to EthiopiaDry Arid highlands

Bibliography

Daniel Adomako

Article first published online: 10 MAY 2006

DOI: 10.1002/jsfa.2740280411

Journal of the Science of Food and Agriculture

Volume 28, Issue 4, pages 384–386,

Article first published online: 10 MAY 2006 | DOI: 10.1002/jsfa.2740280401

Characterization of Pentadesma butyracea sabine Butters of Different Production Regions in Benin

Fidèle P. Tchobo, Armand K. Natta, Bruno Barea, Nathalie Barouh, Georges Piombo, Michel Pina, Pierre Villeneuve,Mohamed M. Soumanou and Dominique C. K. Sohounhloue

Journal of the American Oil Chemists’ Society

Volume 84, Number 8 (2007), 755-760, DOI: 10.1007/s11746-007-1102-0

picture of Pentadesma butyraceaS