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Oils

Macaúba Kernel Oil

INCI Acrocomia Aculeata Kernel Oil. Also: Macauba kernel oil, Bocaiuva kernel oil, Macaw palm kernel oil, Acrocomia aculeata kernel oil, Grugru palm kernel oil.

Calculate a 100 % Macaúba Kernel Oil bar

The saponification value here is derived, not published. No primary document we could use gives one for Macaúba Kernel Oil, so it is calculated from this record's own fatty-acid composition: chain lengths fix the molar mass, which fixes how much hydroxide a gram of fat consumes. That gives 229.5 mg KOH/g, ±3 %.

That is stoichiometry on a measured composition rather than a guess, and it is about as well determined as a published figure: checked against the 35 Codex oils where both fields come from the same standard, the method's median error is 0.90 % and its 90th percentile 2.74 %, with no meaningful bias. The formula page shows the working. If you have a certificate of analysis for your lot, enter its measured value in the calculator and this estimate is set aside.

Published values

Saponification valuenot published
Derived from composition229.5 ± 3 % mg KOH/g
Used by the calculator229.5 mg KOH/g (derived)
SAP for NaOH0.1636 g/g
Iodine value—
INS (SAP − IV)—
Melting point—
Unsaponifiable matter—

A bar made of 100 % Macaúba Kernel Oil

Hardness 62 above 29–54
Cleansing 50 above 12–22
Conditioning 30 below 44–69
Bubbly lather 50 above 14–46
Creamy lather 12 below 16–48

Conventional qualities summed from the fatty-acid groups; a single-oil bar is a reference point, not a recipe.

Fatty-acid profile

Fatty acidPublished range, %Used
Caprylic acid C8:0 · saturated 3.1–6.2 4.7
Capric acid C10:0 · saturated 2.6–5.9 4.3
Lauric acid C12:0 · saturated 31–47 39.0
Myristic acid C14:0 · saturated 9–12 10.5
Palmitic acid C16:0 · saturated 5.8–11 8.4
Palmitoleic acid C16:1 ≤ 0.06 0.1
Stearic acid C18:0 · saturated 2.8–4.5 3.7
Oleic acid C18:1 19.8–32 25.9
Linoleic acid C18:2 2.7–4.6 3.7
Arachidic acid C20:0 · saturated ≤ 0.18 0.2
Gadoleic acid C20:1 ≤ 0.14 0.1
Lignoceric acid C24:0 · saturated ≤ 0.06 0.1

Where these numbers come from

Sociedade Brasileira de Fruticultura (Revista Brasileira de Fruticultura), open access via SciELO Brazil — Antoniassi R, Freitas SC, Silva TS, Santiago MCPA, Wilhelm AE, Junqueira NTV. 'Impact of genotype on fatty acid profile, oil content and nutritional value of the sweet fruits of Acrocomia aculeata.' Rev. Bras. Frutic. 42(6):e-796 (2020). DOI 10.1590/0100-29452020796. · document dated 2020 · read 2026-09-24

Table 4 (fatty-acid profile of kernel oil, incl. the Antoniassi et al. 2013 range column). Read from word coordinates.

Instituto de Tecnologia de Alimentos, ITAL (Brazilian Journal of Food Technology) — Hiane PA, Ramos Filho MM, Ramos MIL, Macedo MLR. 'Oleo da polpa e amendoa de bocaiuva, Acrocomia aculeata (Jacq.) Lodd. Caracterizacao e composicao em acidos graxos.' Braz. J. Food Technol. 8(3):256-259 (2005). · document dated 2005 · read 2026-09-24

Kernel column of Tables 1 and 2; read and rejected (see notes).

A lauric kernel oil with far more oleic acid (20-32 %) than coconut or palm kernel oil. Antoniassi, Freitas, Silva, Santiago, Wilhelm & Junqueira 2020 (Rev. Bras. Frutic. 42(6):e-796; Embrapa Agroindustria de Alimentos and Embrapa Cerrados), Table 4, kernel oil of three selected sweet-mesocarp genotypes Mac 1/Mac 2/Mac 3: C8:0 3.7/3.9/5.1; C10:0 4.0/3.8/4.2; C12:0 37.8/38.6/37.4; C14:0 9.8/10.1/10.5; C16:0 8.4/8.4/8.7; C16:1 0-0.06/0.05/0.06; C18:0 3.0/3.6/3.1; C18:1 29.3/27.3/26.8; C18:2 3.6/3.8/3.7; C20:0 0-0.1/0.15/0-0.1; C20:1 0-0.14/0-0.1/not quantified; C24:0 0-0.04/0-0.06/not quantified. The table's fourth column gives the range for Brazilian macauba genotypes from Antoniassi et al. (2013): C8:0 3.1-6.2, C10:0 2.6-5.9, C12:0 31-47, C14:0 9-12, C16:0 5.8-11, C18:0 2.8-4.5, C18:1 19.8-32, C18:2 2.7-4.6, C20:0 0.05-0.18. The ranges in this record are that column, with maxima taken from the three genotypes for the trace acids it does not cover. No typical is given: the three genotypes are one breeding selection, not a market sample. The table also prints iodine values 32/30/30 and saponification values 227/228/230 mg KOH/g, but the methods state these 'were calculated' from the composition, so they are not used as measurements; the build's derived value should agree with them. REJECTED: Hiane, Ramos Filho, Ramos & Macedo 2005 (Braz. J. Food Technol. 8(3):256-259), bocaiuva kernel oil from Mato Grosso do Sul: C8:0 5.96, C10:0 1.79, C12:0 12.95, C14:0 9.49, C16:0 12.62, C16:1 2.29, C18:0 6.58, C18:1 40.17, C18:2 5.91, C18:3 1.92, C20:0 0.30 (the PDF columns are misaligned; rows re-paired with the paper's own SFA/MUFA/PUFA sums 49.69/42.46/7.83), with measured iodine value 54.05 and saponification value 258.00. Its lauric acid is a third of every other analysis, and its own composition implies about 212 mg KOH/g while the value measured on the same oil is 258, 22 % higher (258 would fit a lauric oil like the Embrapa ones, 212 fits the profile printed); the pair cannot both describe one sample, so neither the profile nor the saponification value is used. PlantFAdb's older analyses of the closely related mbocaya palm (Acrocomia totai) kernel oil agree with the Embrapa ranges (e.g. 1968: lauric 36.0, oleic 29.1, myristic 7.8, caprylic 6.0, capric 5.5, palmitic 6.9, linoleic 4.8, stearic 3.1) and were not needed. CosIng also lists Acrocomia Aculeata Seed Butter.

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.