An official website of the United States government.

Official websites use .gov
A .gov website belongs to an official government organization in the United States.

Secure .gov websites use HTTPS
A lock ( ) or https:// means you've safely connected to the .gov website. Share sensitive information only on official, secure websites.

Plant Vitellaria paradoxa (Sapotaceae)

Common Names
Butterseed; Shea Nut; Shea-Butter-Tree; Sheatree; Shea
How this plant is used
Medicinal
View the list of ubiquitous chemicals
List of plant chemicals.
Click on column headings to sort table by that column. *Unless otherwise noted all references are to (Duke, 1992)
Chemical Name Activity Count Plant Part Low Parts Per Million High Parts Per Million Standard Deviation Reference
24-METHYLENE-DAMMARENOL 0 Seed Oil not available not available not available Itoh, O., Uetsuki, T., Tamura, T., Matsumoto, A. 1980. Characterization of Triterpene Alcohols of Seed Oils From Some Species of Theaceae, Phytolaccaceae and Sapotaceae. Lipids 15 6: 407-411.
24-METHYLENE-LANOST-9(11)-EN-3-BETA-OL 0 Seed not available not available not available Itoh, T., Tamura, T., Matsumoto, T. 1975. 24-methylenelanost-9(11)-en-3-beta-ol, New Triterpene Alcohol From Shea Butter. Lipids 10: 454.
ALLANTOIN 12 Seed not available not available not available Duke, 1992 *
ALPHA-AMYRENONE 0 Seed Oil not available not available not available Kolhe, J. N., Bhaskar, A., Brongi, N. V. 1982. Occurrence of 3-oxo Triterpenes in the Unsaponifiable Matter of Some Vegetable Fats. Lipids 17: 166-168.
ALPHA-AMYRIN 10 Plant not available not available not available Duke, 1992 *
ALPHA-AMYRIN 10 Seed Oil not available not available not available Itoh, O., Uetsuki, T., Tamura, T., Matsumoto, A. 1980. Characterization of Triterpene Alcohols of Seed Oils From Some Species of Theaceae, Phytolaccaceae and Sapotaceae. Lipids 15 6: 407-411.
ARGININE 14 Seed not available 5985.0 -0.79 Duke, 1992 *
ASH 0 Seed not available 18000.0 -0.90 Duke, 1992 *
BASSEOL 0 Plant not available not available not available Duke, 1992 *
BETA-AMYRENONE 0 Seed Oil not available not available not available Kolhe, J. N., Bhaskar, A., Brongi, N. V. 1982. Occurrence of 3-oxo Triterpenes in the Unsaponifiable Matter of Some Vegetable Fats. Lipids 17: 166-168.
BETA-AMYRIN 9 Plant not available not available not available Duke, 1992 *
BETA-AMYRIN 9 Seed Oil not available not available not available Itoh, O., Uetsuki, T., Tamura, T., Matsumoto, A. 1980. Characterization of Triterpene Alcohols of Seed Oils From Some Species of Theaceae, Phytolaccaceae and Sapotaceae. Lipids 15 6: 407-411.
BUTYROSPERMENONE 0 Seed Oil not available not available not available Kolhe, J. N., Bhaskar, A., Brongi, N. V. 1982. Occurrence of 3-oxo Triterpenes in the Unsaponifiable Matter of Some Vegetable Fats. Lipids 17: 166-168.
BUTYROSPERMOL 0 Seed Oil not available not available not available Itoh, O., Uetsuki, T., Tamura, T., Matsumoto, A. 1980. Characterization of Triterpene Alcohols of Seed Oils From Some Species of Theaceae, Phytolaccaceae and Sapotaceae. Lipids 15 6: 407-411.
CALCIUM 28 Seed not available 1070.0 -0.57 Duke, 1992 *
CARBOHYDRATES 0 Seed not available 382000.0 -0.56 Duke, 1992 *
CYSTINE 2 Seed not available 730.0 -1.68 Duke, 1992 *
DAMMARADIENOL 3 Seed Oil not available not available not available Itoh, O., Uetsuki, T., Tamura, T., Matsumoto, A. 1980. Characterization of Triterpene Alcohols of Seed Oils From Some Species of Theaceae, Phytolaccaceae and Sapotaceae. Lipids 15 6: 407-411.
EUPHOL 1 Seed Oil not available not available not available Itoh, O., Uetsuki, T., Tamura, T., Matsumoto, A. 1980. Characterization of Triterpene Alcohols of Seed Oils From Some Species of Theaceae, Phytolaccaceae and Sapotaceae. Lipids 15 6: 407-411.
FAT 0 Seed not available 526000.0 1.37 Duke, 1992 *
View the list of ubiquitous chemicals
List of plant activities.
Click on column headings to sort table by that column. *Unless otherwise noted all references are to (Duke, 1992)
Activity Chemical Count Reference
5-Alpha-Reductase-Inhibitor 5 Duke, 1992 *
Abortifacient 1 Singla*, A.K. Pathak, K. 1989. Phytoconstituents of Euphorbia species. Fitoterapia 61(6): 483-508, 1990.
Adjuvant 1 Merck 11th Edition
Allergenic 1 Duke, 1992 *
Alpha-Reductase-Inhibitor 1 Duke, 1992 *
Analgesic 4 Werbach, M. 1993. Healing with Food. Harper Collins, New York, 443 pp.
Anemiagenic 1 Duke, 1992 *
Angiotensin-Receptor-Blocker 1 Duke, 1992 *
Antiacne 1 Duke, 1992 *
AntiADD 1 Martindale's 29th
Antiakathisic 1 Martindale's 29th
Antialcoholic 1 Duke, 1992 *
Antiallergic 1 Duke, 1992 *
Antialopecic 3 Duke, 1992 *
Antialzheimeran 1 Werbach, M. 1993. Healing with Food. Harper Collins, New York, 443 pp.
Antianaphylactic 1 Economic & Medicinal Plant Research, 6: 189.
Antiandrogenic 3 Duke, 1992 *
Antianemic 1 Martindale's 29th
Antiangiogenic 1 Duke, 1992 *
Antianorectic 1 Jeffery B. Harborne and H. Baxter, eds. 1983. Phytochemical Dictionary. A Handbook of Bioactive Compounds from Plants. Taylor & Frost, London. 791 pp.