| Abstract
| - The shea tree, Vitellaria paradoxa Gaertner, is the source of a commercial seed fat known as sheabutter. High-performance liquid chromatography (HPLC) analysis of the tocopherol content of sheabutters from different regions of Africa showed high variability between provenances and a significanteffect of climate on α-tocopherol levels. The total tocopherol content (α, β, γ, and δ) in 102 sheabutter samples from 11 countries ranged from 29 to 805 μg/g of shea butter, with a mean of 220μg/g. α-Tocopherol, the principal form detected, averaged 64% of the total tocopherol content. Sheabutters from Vitellaria populations situated in hot, dry climates had the highest levels of α-tocopherol(for example, a mean of 414 μg/g in samples from N'Djamena, Chad). The lowest concentrations ofα-tocopherol were found in samples from cool highland areas, especially in northern Uganda (a meanof 29 μg/g). Keywords: Shea butter; tocopherols; temperature effects; antioxidants; Africa
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