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Agro IndustriesShea Butter Manufacturer, Nigeria
Glossary

Lipase

Also written as: lipase enzyme, triacylglycerol lipase

Summary

Lipase is an enzyme that splits triglycerides into glycerol and free fatty acids in the presence of water. In shea kernels it is naturally present and becomes active when kernels are left wet or unboiled after harvest, raising the butter's free fatty acid content.

Boiling or parboiling fresh nuts promptly, then drying kernels fast and storing them dry, inactivates or starves the enzyme — collection practice, not factory processing, sets free fatty acid. Lipase activity also explains why cold-pressed says nothing about FFA.

Free Fatty Acid (FFA)

Free fatty acid (FFA) is the share of a fat's fatty acids that have broken away from their…

Rancidity

Rancidity is the off-odour and off-flavour a fat develops as it degrades

Wild Collection

Wild collection means shea nuts are gathered from naturally occurring

Neutralisation

Neutralisation is the refining step in which free fatty acids in crude fat react with an a…

Full explainer: Free Fatty Acid (FFA)

What FFA measures in shea butter, why it rises in kernels, and how it is tested.

Part of the shea butter glossary · Complete guide to shea butter

Last reviewed September 2026 by EMI Agro Industries QC team.