Pomegranate seed oil: SAP value and fatty acids
Pomegranate seed oil has a saponification value of 187 mg KOH/g. One gram needs 0.133 g of sodium hydroxide (NaOH) for bar soap or 0.187 g of potassium hydroxide (KOH) for liquid soap to turn fully into soap, before any superfat.
Key numbers
- SAP, NaOH
- 0.133309 g per g oil
- SAP, KOH
- 0.187 g per g oil
- Saponification value
- 187 mg KOH/g
- INCI name
- Punica Granatum Seed Oil
Example: 100 g of Pomegranate seed oil with no superfat needs 13.3 g of 100% NaOH, or 18.7 g of 100% KOH. A 5% superfat uses 5% less.
In soap
Pomegranate seed oil is left out of the soap-quality scores in Soap Ledger: it is mostly not ordinary oil (a wax, resin, blend or an oil with unusual fatty acids), so those scores would not describe it. It still counts fully in the lye calculation.
Rich in punicic acid (a conjugated fatty acid); use at low levels.
Sources
SAP value: 187 mg KOH/g (Median of sources' mgKoh_mid (no Codex/pharmacopoeia standard found)), from Mohammadpourfard I., Jahanbakhsh M., Sayadi M., Asadi-Ghalhari M., Salehi A. (2024) Physicochemical Properties and Nutritional Composition of Seed Oil from Wild Pomegranate Varieties in Jolfa, Northern Iran. Progress in Nutrition 27(4):17304. doi:10.23751/pn.v27i4.17304, Mattioli 1885 (peer-reviewed). Printed value: 186.5–189.2 mg KOH/g.
Published values we checked:
- 182 - 192 mg KOH/g — From Nature With Love (soap/cosmetic supplier)
- 185 mg KOH/g — The Soapery (UK soap supplier)
- 186.5–189.2 mg KOH/g — Mattioli 1885 (peer-reviewed)
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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