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Oils

Kusum Oil

INCI Schleichera Trijuga Seed Oil. Also: Kusum seed oil, Macassar oil, Kesambi oil, Schleichera oleosa seed oil, Schleichera trijuga seed oil.

Not for soap. Kusum oil holds cyanogenic lipids, which release hydrogen cyanide when they are hydrolysed, and saponifying the oil hydrolyses them. Industry saponifies it only after a pretreatment that removes them (Sarve, Varma and Sonawane 2015), and no document gives how much a commercial oil still holds. It is kept here as reference and left out of the calculator.

Published values

Saponification valuenot published
Iodine value—
INS (SAP − IV)—
Melting point—
Unsaponifiable matter—

A bar made of 100 % Kusum Oil

The soap qualities are derived from the fatty-acid profile, which is below. They are shown here only for records the calculator can use.

This record is disputed. Kusum oil contains cyanogenic lipids that release cyanide when they are hydrolysed (Sarve et al. 2015), and making soap hydrolyses the oil. No document read gives how much of these lipids a commercial oil contains, so both the lye figure derived from the fatty-acid profile and the amount of cyanide a batch could release are unknown. The same paper lists soap making among the oil's uses, so ask the supplier whether the oil has been treated to remove the cyanolipids before using it.

Fatty-acid profile

Fatty acidPublished range, %Used
Lauric acid C12:0 · saturated ≤ 0.3 0.3
Myristic acid C14:0 · saturated 0.2–0.4 0.3
Palmitic acid C16:0 · saturated 7.2–10.8 9.0
Palmitoleic acid C16:1 1.6–2 1.8
Stearic acid C18:0 · saturated 2.6–4.6 3.6
Oleic acid C18:1 42.2–42.8 42.5
Linoleic acid C18:2 4–6.1 5.1
Arachidic acid C20:0 · saturated 22–24.3 23.2
Gadoleic acid C20:1 9.2–15.1 12.1
Behenic acid C22:0 · saturated 1–1.4 1.2
Erucic acid C22:1 1–1.2 1.1

Where these numbers come from

PlantFAdb (Michigan State University), based on the Seed Oil Fatty Acids (SOFA) database of the Max Rubner-Institut — PlantFAdb datasets for Schleichera trijuga (plant 16329) · read 2026-09-24

Dataset #12818 (1968; SOFA TAB_001716) used; #23023 (Sarve et al. 2015) and #23061 (2010) read but not merged (see notes).

PlantFAdb (Michigan State University), based on the Seed Oil Fatty Acids (SOFA) database of the Max Rubner-Institut — PlantFAdb dataset for Schleichera trijuga (plant 20356) · read 2026-09-24

Dataset #28548 'Chinese Oil Plants' (1987), kernel.

Japan Oil Chemists' Society (Journal of Oleo Science), open access via J-STAGE — Sarve A, Varma MN, Sonawane SS. 'Optimization and Kinetic Studies on Biodiesel Production from Kusum (Schleichera triguga) Oil Using Response Surface Methodology.' J. Oleo Sci. 64(9):987-997 (2015). DOI 10.5650/jos.ess15069. · document dated 2015 · read 2026-09-24

Introduction (cyanogenic lipids), Table 1 (quoted fatty acids) and section 2.3 (acid value of the crude oil).

PlantFAdb (Michigan State University), based on the Seed Oil Fatty Acids (SOFA) database of the Max Rubner-Institut — PlantFAdb datasets for Schleichera oleosa (plant 14421) · read 2026-09-24

Oil-content remarks only (51-62 % and 59-72 % in the kernel).

READ FIRST: Sarve, Varma & Sonawane 2015 (J. Oleo Sci. 64(9):987-997) state that kusum oil 'contains cynogenic lipids, which releases cyanide upon hydrolysis. Hence, it saponified only after pretreatment.' Saponification is hydrolysis. None of the documents read gives the cyanolipid content, and cyanolipids are not triglycerides, so a saponification value derived from this profile (which assumes triglycerides) may be off by an unknown amount. Fatty acids are PlantFAdb's two independent analyses of Schleichera trijuga (a synonym of S. oleosa): 'Component fatty acids and composition of some oils and fats' (1968; SOFA TAB_001716; oil content 74): C12:0 0.3, C14:0 0.2, C16:1 1.6, C16:0 10.8, C18:2 6.1, C18:1 42.8, C18:0 4.6, C20:1 9.2, C20:0 22.0, C22:1 1.0, C22:0 1.4; and 'Chinese Oil Plants' (1987; kernel, oil 69 %): C14:0 0.4, C16:1 2.0, C16:0 7.2, C18:2 4.0, C18:1 42.2, C18:0 2.6, C20:1 15.1, C20:0 24.3, C22:1 1.2, C22:0 1.0. Arachidic (22-24 %) and eicosenoic acid (9-15 %) are this oil's signature. Not merged: Sarve et al.'s Table 1, which quotes its reference 15 rather than measuring, with odd labels: lauric '12:1' 0.31, myristic '14:1' 0.31, palmitic 8.0, stearic 2.3, oleic 42.6, linoleic 4.5, arachidic 21.3, eicosenoic '20:2' 15.2, behenic 1.5, erucic 1.9 (PlantFAdb's transcription of it omits the myristic); and a 2010 PlantFAdb dataset ('An ideal feedstock, kusum (Schleichera triguga) for preparation of biodiesel') with 15.54 % myristic acid and a 92.5 % total, rejected as unlike every other analysis. The crude oil Sarve et al. used (S. K. Oil Industries, Jharkhand) had an initial acid value of 21.65 mg NaOH/g, 'corresponding to the free fatty acid (FFA) level of 10.83%'; free fatty acid takes up lye as well. No saponification or iodine value was found in an allowed document. PlantFAdb records give 51-62 % and 59-72 % oil in the kernel for S. oleosa.

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.