Elijah Olawale Ajala, Folorunso Aberuagba, Adesoji Matthew Olaniyan, Mary Adejoke Ajala, and Oyetunji Babatunde Okedere

DOI: 10.14456/sjst-psu.2019.112

pp. 879 - 886

Abstract

Shea butter (SB) production by mechanical extraction (ME) was optimised by box-behnken (BB) experimental design
of response surface methodology (RSM). The process parameters studied (with their ranges) were sample weight (100 – 200 g),
temperature (60 – 120oC) and duration of applied pressure (10 – 30 min) to optimise the yield of SB. The characteristics of the
SB were determined using standard methods and Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy (FTIR). A comparative study of the SB
from ME with other methods of extraction was also performed. The optimum 37% (w/w) yield of SB was obtained from 150 g
sample of shea kernel at 90oC and 20 min. The R²
(0.9957) obtained from analysis of variance showed that quadratic model of
BB fitted the experimental data well. The characteristics of the SB from ME showed non-compromising quality, with a yield
greater than that of traditional method but lower than with solvent method. This study showed that the extraction methods affect
both yield and quality of SB