Comparative study of some physical properties of the shea kernels in the shea parks in Benin

Abstract

In Benin Republic, there are five different known shea parks. The dedicated various studies to the characterization of nuts and kernels in Benin, and in the sub-region, are often limited to the samples taken from only one zone and did not take into account the variability of the production zones. This study aimed at assessing the physical properties of shea kernels collected in four shea parks of Benin. Sizes (length, width, thickness), one-thousand nuts weight, the true and bulk volumes, sphericity, porosity and the true and bulk densities, have been determined on shea kernels from each park using appropriate methodology. The results showed that average moisture content of the shea kernels was 7.55±1.23% (wb). The parks of Kandi and Savè displayed the smallest shea kernels while those from Parakou and Bembèrèkè, showed the biggest. Sphericity of shea kernels turns around 0.72 whereas their porosity ranges from 41.59 to 43.24% and the weight of onethousand kernels ranges from 3.98 to 4.40 kg. The true and bulk volumes of one-thousand kernels vary from 3.88 to 4.37 dm³ and 6.64 to 7.70 dm³ respectively. The true and bulk densities fluctuate from 1,007.51 to 1,024.24 kg/m³ and 571.77 to 598.12 kg/m³ respectively. These results call for the development of appropriate equipment for shea processing in Benin.

Keywords: Sizes, sphericity, porosity, true density, specific area, one-thousand kernels.