Sheabutter – Uncovering the antiinflammatory properties of a botanical

The solid fat which is extracted from the nuts of the tropical tree Vitellaria paradoxa (alias Butyrospermum parkii) Fam. Sapotaceae, named sheabutter, is put to several culinary and cosmetical applications in Ghana. I became deeply interested in this botanical product when I successfully used it to eradicate a severe acneiform disease from my face. The condition was the pustular and inflammatory type and had persisted for more than a decade, and haven resisted most conventional treatments for acne it seemed intractable. Within a few weeks of application of sheabutter the pustular lesions discharged their contents, inflammations were completely resolved, and the black spots had cleared. It was a complete cure.

I therefore proceeded to try the product on other inflammatory conditions of the skin, such as swellings as a result of trauma, inflamed spots from insect stings, and other inflammations of uncertain aetiologies. I have also briefly tried the product on open wounds. The findings have always been remarkable. Sheabutter exerts potent analgesic and antiinflammatory properties. Inflammations arising from all aetiologies quickly resolve within a few hours under the action of sheabutter. Wounds heal rapidly without leaving a scar.

This discovery has cast some light on the medicinal potential of sheabutter and informs us that this product merits our close study and attention. I suspect that sheabutter would eventually prove very useful in dermatological practice, and effective in the therapy of autoimmune diseases and other rheumatological disorders.