Quality assessment of Vitellaria paradoxa seed oil obtained under different extraction conditions and solvents

Abstract

Greener technologies and methodologies are the panaceas for sustainable development and a sustainable economy. Therefore, environmentally benign approaches to the extraction of edible oils and oils for industrial applications should be adopted to obtain greener products. The aim of this study is to compare the quality of the shea butter obtained via the traditional method of extraction with the use of an organic solvent such as petroleum ether. The fatty acid composition, polyaromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs), and aliphatic hydrocarbons of the traditionally obtained shea butter (TSB) and petroleum ether-obtained shea butter (PSB) were determined using standard methods. The total PAHs in the TSB sample were 0.430 mg/L, with benzo[c]phenanthrene having the highest concentration of 0.170 mg/L. Most of the PAHs were not detected in the TSB sample, and the few that were detected were in very low amounts. The total PAHs in the PSB sample were 304.742 mg/L, with pyrene having the highest concentration of 285.411 mg/L. Benz[a]anthracene had the lowest concentration of 0.223 mg/L, while 7,12-dimethylbenzo[a]anthracene's (DMBA) concentration was 0.481 mg/L. The concentrations of omega-3 fatty acids such as γ-linolenic acid (316.47 mg/l), arachidonic acid (24.39 mg/l), and 5,8,11,17-eicosapentaenoic acid (20.67 mg/l) were higher in TSB than those obtained in PSB, with concentrations of 8.586 mg/l, 0.662 ml/l, and 0.561 mg/l, respectively. The traditional method is more environmentally friendly compared to the cold solvent extraction method with petroleum ether, and shea butter should be extracted with greener solvents for edible, pharmaceutical, and cosmetic purposes.