Shea butter

What the research shows

Prototype

Not enough

published research on this page yet

How we decide

A fat from the nut of the African shea tree.

It is used in food preparation and sometimes mixed with other oils as a substitute for cocoa butter.

Written from Open Food Facts and English Wikipedia12

What research says

Study type not stated

  • Benefit

    Fat and antioxidant content3

    Shea butter is a fat used in cooking, and studies suggest it may have antioxidant and anti-inflammatory activity.

The signal at the top counts the findings in people and in animal and lab studies. A concern in studies of people outranks animal and lab studies, and “No concerns” needs at least two findings in people. Findings whose study type is not stated are shown but not counted. This page is a reference, not medical advice. It describes what regulators and published research say. Talk to a doctor or dietitian about your own diet.

Products

The 6 most-scanned of 2,612 products on Open Food Facts that list shea butter.

  • Granola L'Original LU · 200 g e 5 additives
  • petit déjeuner miel et pépites de chocolat TOBLERONE · 435 g 5 additives
  • AFTER EIGHT Coffret 300g Nestlé · 300 g 3 additives
  • Caprice Papadopoulos · 115 g 5 additives
  • Prince petit dej Lu · 300 g 5 additives
  • lurpak plant based Lurpak · 400 g 0 additives

References

  1. 1shea butter: ingredient taxonomy entry. Open Food Facts.
  2. 2Shea butter. Wikipedia. Accessed September 26, 2026.
  3. 3Honfo FG, Akissoe N, Linnemann AR, Soumanou M, Van Boekel MA. Nutritional composition of shea products and chemical properties of shea butter: a review. Crit Rev Food Sci Nutr. 2014;54(5):673-86. doi:10.1080/10408398.2011.604142