Mafura butter (Trichilia emetica): SAP value and fatty acids
Mafura butter (Trichilia emetica) has a saponification value of 190.05 mg KOH/g. One gram needs 0.135 g of sodium hydroxide (NaOH) for bar soap or 0.190 g of potassium hydroxide (KOH) for liquid soap to turn fully into soap, before any superfat.
Key numbers
- SAP, NaOH
- 0.135483 g per g oil
- SAP, KOH
- 0.19005 g per g oil
- Saponification value
- 190.05 mg KOH/g
- Iodine value
- 45
- INS
- 145
- INCI name
- Trichilia Emetica Seed Butter
Example: 100 g of Mafura butter (Trichilia emetica) with no superfat needs 13.5 g of 100% NaOH, or 19.0 g of 100% KOH. A 5% superfat uses 5% less.
In soap
Its main fatty acids in our cited profile are palmitic (51.8%) and oleic (36.4%). The eight fatty acids used in soap-quality scores make up 98.5% of the profile.
On its own it scores 54 for hardness, 0 for cleansing and 45 for conditioning, with a saturated : unsaturated split of 54 : 45.
Seeds give both an oil (from the aril) and a butter (from the kernel); commercial product is often a mix. Sources disagree by ~11%. Use the supplier COA. Published sources for this oil differ by more than 3%, so checking your supplier's certificate of analysis matters more than usual.
Fatty-acid profile
| Fatty acid | % of fatty acids | Counts toward |
|---|---|---|
| lauric | 0% | hardness, cleansing, bubbly lather |
| myristic | 0% | hardness, cleansing, bubbly lather |
| palmitic | 51.8% | hardness, creamy lather |
| stearic | 1.9% | hardness, creamy lather |
| ricinoleic | 0% | conditioning, bubbly and creamy lather |
| oleic | 36.4% | conditioning |
| linoleic | 7.9% | conditioning |
| linolenic | 0.5% | conditioning |
Basis: Mabaso, Buthelezi & Zharare 2025 Plants Table 3: Trichilia emetica KERNEL oil (the butter), screw-pressed, KwaZulu-Natal seed lots, mean.
Soap-quality scores (this oil alone)
| Hardness | 54 |
|---|---|
| Cleansing | 0 |
| Conditioning | 45 |
| Bubbly lather | 0 |
| Creamy lather | 54 |
| Iodine | 45 |
| INS | 145 |
Each score adds up certain fatty acids, the way Soap Ledger scores a whole recipe. They are for comparing recipes; they don't predict how a bar will feel, and they say nothing about safety or skin.
Sources
SAP value: 190.05 mg KOH/g (Median of sources' mgKoh_mid), from Proximate nutritional composition, characterization of some selected physicochemical properties and comparative compositional analysis of Trichilia emetica oilseeds with some selected commercial oilseeds (African Journal of Agricultural Research 9(28):2177–2184, 2014; DOI 10.5897/AJAR2014.8807), Academic Journals (peer-reviewed, open access). Printed value: 180.09 mg KOH/g.
Published values we checked:
- 190 - 210 mg KOH/g — From Nature With Love (soap/cosmetic supplier)
- 180.09 mg KOH/g — Academic Journals (peer-reviewed, open access)
Fatty acids and iodine: Mabaso M., Buthelezi L.G., Zharare G.E. (2025) Comparative Analysis of Mafura Butter Oils from Trichilia emetica and Trichilia dregeana Extracted by Screw Press. Plants 14:3071. doi:10.3390/plants14193071, MDPI (open access, PMC12526083). Also checked: MDPI (open access, PMC11359310) (Section 2.5 / Figure 5).
NaOH and KOH values are converted from mg KOH/g with the molar masses 39.997 and 56.106 and rounded to 6 decimals, exactly as in the Soap Ledger app. Real oils vary by origin, grade and lot: check your supplier's certificate of analysis. Verify every weight before you make this, and follow lye safety. Not a safety or compliance certification.
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