Passion fruit seed oil (maracuja): SAP value and fatty acids
Passion fruit seed oil (maracuja) has a saponification value of 184.5 mg KOH/g. One gram needs 0.132 g of sodium hydroxide (NaOH) for bar soap or 0.185 g of potassium hydroxide (KOH) for liquid soap to turn fully into soap, before any superfat.
Key numbers
- SAP, NaOH
- 0.131527 g per g oil
- SAP, KOH
- 0.1845 g per g oil
- Saponification value
- 184.5 mg KOH/g
- Iodine value
- 97.4
- INS
- 87
- INCI name
- Passiflora Edulis Seed Oil
Example: 100 g of Passion fruit seed oil (maracuja) with no superfat needs 13.2 g of 100% NaOH, or 18.4 g of 100% KOH. A 5% superfat uses 5% less.
In soap
Its main fatty acids in our cited profile are linoleic (68.4%) and oleic (14.3%). The eight fatty acids used in soap-quality scores make up 97.8% of the profile.
On its own it scores 15 for hardness, 0 for cleansing and 83 for conditioning, with a saturated : unsaturated split of 15 : 83.
Linoleic-rich. Only supplier figures, with wide ranges. A peer-reviewed value for a related species (P. cincinnata, 193.0; Grasas y Aceites 75(2), 2024) is close to The Soapery's figure. 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 | 0.1% | hardness, cleansing, bubbly lather |
| palmitic | 11.7% | hardness, creamy lather |
| stearic | 2.8% | hardness, creamy lather |
| ricinoleic | 0% | conditioning, bubbly and creamy lather |
| oleic | 14.3% | conditioning |
| linoleic | 68.4% | conditioning |
| linolenic | 0.5% | conditioning |
Basis: Food Sci Nutr 2019 Table 2, hexane-macerated oil from west Cameroon P. edulis seeds (GC-FID).
Soap-quality scores (this oil alone)
| Hardness | 15 |
|---|---|
| Cleansing | 0 |
| Conditioning | 83 |
| Bubbly lather | 0 |
| Creamy lather | 15 |
| Iodine | 97 |
| INS | 87 |
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: 184.5 mg KOH/g (Median of sources' mgKoh_mid), from Saponification Chart, From Nature With Love (soap/cosmetic supplier). Printed value: 167 - 200 mg KOH/g.
Published values we checked:
- 167 - 200 mg KOH/g — From Nature With Love (soap/cosmetic supplier)
- 191 mg KOH/g — The Soapery (UK soap supplier)
- 170-199 mg KOH/gr mg KOH/g — Skinchakra (EU supplier)
Fatty acids and iodine: Passiflora edulis seed oil from west Cameroon: Chemical characterization and assessment of its hypolipidemic effect in high-fat diet-induced rats (Food Sci Nutr 2019; DOI 10.1002/fsn3.1234), Wiley (peer-reviewed, open access). Also checked: MDPI (peer-reviewed, open access) (Fatty acid composition table (SC-CO2 oil, seeds from Yulin, China)).
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.
Last updated .