Ucuuba butter: SAP value and fatty acids
Ucuuba butter has a saponification value of 230.5 mg KOH/g. One gram needs 0.164 g of sodium hydroxide (NaOH) for bar soap or 0.231 g of potassium hydroxide (KOH) for liquid soap to turn fully into soap, before any superfat.
Key numbers
- SAP, NaOH
- 0.164319 g per g oil
- SAP, KOH
- 0.2305 g per g oil
- Saponification value
- 230.5 mg KOH/g
- INCI name
- Virola Surinamensis Seed Butter
Example: 100 g of Ucuuba butter with no superfat needs 16.4 g of 100% NaOH, or 23.0 g of 100% KOH. A 5% superfat uses 5% less.
In soap
Its main fatty acids in our cited profile are myristic (66.8%) and lauric (12.9%). The eight fatty acids used in soap-quality scores make up 100.1% of the profile.
On its own it scores 90 for hardness, 80 for cleansing and 10 for conditioning, with a saturated : unsaturated split of 90 : 10.
Ucuuba is mostly myristic acid (about 70-80%), so it needs more lye than most butters. Unrefined ucuuba can hold around 5% material that doesn't saponify, which is why batches vary. Check your 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 | 12.9% | hardness, cleansing, bubbly lather |
| myristic | 66.8% | hardness, cleansing, bubbly lather |
| palmitic | 9.1% | hardness, creamy lather |
| stearic | 1.1% | hardness, creamy lather |
| ricinoleic | 0% | conditioning, bubbly and creamy lather |
| oleic | 7.1% | conditioning |
| linoleic | 3.1% | conditioning |
| linolenic | 0% | conditioning |
Basis: USDA FDC SR Legacy 173570 (Oil, ucuhuba butter), converted to % of total fatty acids; scaled to 100% from 100.2%.
Soap-quality scores (this oil alone)
| Hardness | 90 |
|---|---|
| Cleansing | 80 |
| Conditioning | 10 |
| Bubbly lather | 80 |
| Creamy lather | 10 |
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: 230.5 mg KOH/g (Pure-triglyceride theory gives about 235; a measured sample with 5.5% unsaponifiables gave 224; the TDS spec is 225-245 and The Soapery lists 226. 230.5 sits between the measured, unsaponifiable-laden value and the theoretical ceiling. Value unchanged; the Feitosa 2021 value (181.1) stays excluded.), from Evaluation of the quality of Amazonian butters as sustainable raw materials for applications in bioproducts. Rev Ciênc Farm Básica Apl. 2021;42:e708. doi:10.4322/2179-443X.0708, UNESP (peer-reviewed). Printed value: 181.10 ± 2.38 mg KOH/g.
Published values we checked:
- 225 – 245 mg KOH/g — Unnamed supplier (TDS hosted on a Shopify store CDN)
- 226 mg KOH/g — The Soapery (UK soap supplier)
- 181.10 ± 2.38 mg KOH/g — UNESP (peer-reviewed)
- Índice de saponificação 239.03 (SFE 80 °C/350 bar); 235.54 (Soxhlet) mg KOH/g (Tabela 5.5) mg KOH/g — Universidade Federal do Pará (dissertation)
- Índice de Saponificação 224.24 mgKOH/g; insaponificáveis 5.48%; acidez 30.26 mgKOH/g mg KOH/g — Universidade Federal do Pará (dissertation)
Fatty acids: USDA FoodData Central, SR Legacy 173570: Oil, ucuhuba butter, USDA Agricultural Research Service. Also checked: Unnamed supplier (TDS hosted on a Shopify store CDN) (Lipid composition (reference values)).
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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