Flaxseed Oil (Linseed Oil)
INCI Linum Usitatissimum Seed Oil. Also: Linseed oil, Linum usitatissimum seed oil.
Published values
| Saponification value | 185–197 mg KOH/g |
| Used by the calculator | 191.0 mg KOH/g (midpoint) |
| SAP for NaOH | 0.1362 g/g |
| Iodine value | 170–211 g I₂/100 g |
| INS (SAP − IV) | 1 |
| Melting point | — |
| Unsaponifiable matter | ≤ 2 % |
A bar made of 100 % Flaxseed Oil (Linseed Oil)
Conventional qualities summed from the fatty-acid groups; a single-oil bar is a reference point, not a recipe.
Fatty-acid profile
| Fatty acid | Published range, % | Used | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Lauric acid | C12:0 · saturated | 0–0.3 | 0.1 |
| Myristic acid | C14:0 · saturated | 0–0.2 | 0.1 |
| Palmitic acid | C16:0 · saturated | 4–11.3 | 7.7 |
| Palmitoleic acid | C16:1 | 0–0.5 | 0.3 |
| Stearic acid | C18:0 · saturated | 2–8 | 5.0 |
| Oleic acid | C18:1 | 9.8–36 | 22.9 |
| Linoleic acid | C18:2 | 8.3–30 | 19.1 |
| α-Linolenic acid | C18:3 n-3 | 43.8–70 | 56.9 |
| Arachidic acid | C20:0 · saturated | 0–1 | 0.5 |
| Gadoleic acid | C20:1 | 0–1.2 | 0.6 |
| Behenic acid | C22:0 · saturated | 0–0.5 | 0.3 |
| Erucic acid | C22:1 | 0–1.2 | 0.6 |
| Lignoceric acid | C24:0 · saturated | 0–0.3 | 0.1 |
Where these numbers come from
Verbatim mirror of the FAO file CXS_210e.pdf; the official FAO link (https://www.fao.org/fao-who-codexalimentarius/sh-proxy/en/?lnk=1&url=https%3A%2F%2Fworkspace.fao.org%2Fsites%2Fcodex%2FStandards%2FCXS%2B210-1999%2FCXS_210e.pdf) was Cloudflare-gated at retrieval. Table 1 (Section 3.1) = mandatory GLC fatty-acid ranges, % of total fatty acids, ND = not detectable (<=0.05%). Table 2 (Appendix 'Other quality and composition factors') gives saponification value, iodine value (Wijs) and unsaponifiable matter of CRUDE oils; the Appendix is explicitly ADVISORY (a product not meeting it may still conform). This print predates the 2021-2025 amendments; the 2024 additions (avocado, camellia seed, sacha inchi, high-oleic soya bean) are not included.
Fatty acids from CXS 210 Table 1 (mandatory GLC ranges, % of total fatty acids; 'ND' = not detectable, <=0.05%, entries that are ND-only are omitted; C17:0, C17:1, C20:2, C22:2 and C24:1 columns omitted because they are outside this schema's key list). sapKohMgPerG, iodineValue and unsaponifiablePercent from Appendix Table 2 (crude oils; ADVISORY, not mandatory; unsaponifiable converted from g/kg). No 'typical' values are printed in the standard, so none are given. Flaxseed (linseed) oil was added to CXS 210 in the 2019 revision. Ph. Eur. 12 'Linseed oil, virgin' (Heess sheet): iodine value 160-200, saponification value 188-195, unsaponifiable max 1.5 %, palmitic 3.0-8.0, palmitoleic max 1.0, stearic 2.0-8.0, oleic 11.0-35.0, linoleic 11.0-24.0, linolenic 35.0-65.0, arachidic max 1.0 %.
This record is part of the open ingredient database (ODbL). Found an error or a better primary source? The dataset is on GitHub; corrections with a document link are welcome.