Nutritional composition of shea (Vitellaria paradoxa) fruit pulp across its major distribution zones in Nigeria

Abstract

Introduction . The widely recognised dietary and socio-economic value of the shea nut and its butter extract seems to have diminished the usefulness attached to the shea fruit pulp, which is also very important. This is evident from the dearth of scientific information on the nutritional content of the pulp. Materials and methods . We determined the nutritional composition of shea fruit pulp of fruits collected in seven locations spread in the southern Guinea savanna, northern Guinea savanna and the Sudan savanna of Nigeria. Results . Analysis of variance revealed a significant effect of agro-ecological zones on carbohydrate, protein, fibre and energy. The southern Guinea savanna zone recorded comparatively more carbohydrate and energy content than the other two zones, while maintaining lower values for protein and fibre. Conversely, all nutritional traits varied significantly across the fruit pulps for fruits collected in the individual locations surveyed in the three zones. Values for carbohydrate, protein and fat ranged from 29.3–45.3%, 2.6–7.0% and 0.7–1.7%, respectively. Correlation analysis established a positive significant relationship between carbohydrate and energy, but its relationship with fibre and protein was negative and significant. Fibre content maintained a negative relationship with energy while being positively correlated with protein. Principal component analysis identified fibre, energy, ash, protein and moisture as nutritional traits that could be used in classifying shea fruit pulp. Discussion . Our study showed that the Nigerian Vitellaria fruit pulp has adequate nutritional content that is comparable with that of other species. The strong statistical linkage between fibre and protein in shea fruits presents an attractive combination, particularly for children of the rural zones with restricted access to the more conventional and expensive food sources.