Mafura Butter
INCI Trichilia Emetica Seed Butter. Also: Mafura kernel fat, Mafura tallow, Trichilia emetica seed butter, Trichilia butter, Natal mahogany seed butter, Mafoureira tallow.
Published values
| Saponification value | 197.3 mg KOH/g |
| Used by the calculator | 197.3 mg KOH/g (typical) |
| SAP for NaOH | 0.1407 g/g |
| Iodine value | 45 g I₂/100 g |
| INS (SAP − IV) | 152 |
| Melting point | — |
| Unsaponifiable matter | 0.77 % |
A bar made of 100 % Mafura Butter
Conventional qualities summed from the fatty-acid groups; a single-oil bar is a reference point, not a recipe.
How much lye
| Oil | NaOH | KOH |
|---|---|---|
| 500 g | 66.8 g | 93.7 g |
| 1 kg | 133.6 g | 187.4 g |
| 1 lb (454 g) | 60.6 g | 85.0 g |
| 2 lb (907 g) | 121.2 g | 170.0 g |
For this oil alone at 5 % superfat, with pure sodium hydroxide (NaOH) or pure potassium hydroxide (KOH); in brackets, across the published range of its saponification value. KOH is usually sold at 90 %: divide by 0.9. For a whole recipe, open the calculator.
Fatty-acid profile
Saturated : unsaturated 54 : 46
| Fatty acid | Published range, % | Used | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Palmitic acid | C16:0 · saturated | 38.3–51.8 (typical 51.8) | 51.8 |
| Palmitoleic acid | C16:1 | 0.84 | 0.8 |
| Stearic acid | C18:0 · saturated | 1.85–2.2 (typical 1.85) | 1.9 |
| Oleic acid | C18:1 | 36.4–48.5 (typical 36.4) | 36.4 |
| Linoleic acid | C18:2 | 7.88–10.4 (typical 7.88) | 7.9 |
| α-Linolenic acid | C18:3 n-3 | 0.45–1 (typical 0.45) | 0.5 |
Where these numbers come from
Table 2 (physicochemical properties) and Table 3 (fatty acids), T. emetica kernel oil column.
Dataset #22021 'BUTTER FROM PLANTS' (1984; SOFA TAB_007985).
Section 2.5 (palmitic to oleic ratio of the seed butter); corroboration only, no full profile.
Mafura butter is the fat of the seed KERNEL of Trichilia emetica. The seed coat (aril) gives a liquid, linoleic-rich 'mafura oil', a different product; Mabaso et al.: 'the kernel-derived oil is solid at room temperature, forming mafura butter'. Typical values are Mabaso, Buthelezi & Zharare 2025 (Plants 14(19):3071): screw-pressed kernel oil from T. emetica seeds collected December 2020 to March 2021 in Empangeni, KwaZulu-Natal, South Africa, and bulked. Table 3, T. emetica kernel oil: C15:0 none detected, C16:0 51.8 +/- 6.0, C16:1 n-7 0.84 +/- 0.14, C17:0 below LOQ, C18:0 1.85 +/- 0.09, C18:1 n-9 36.4 +/- 1.1, C18:2 n-6 7.88 +/- 0.22, C18:3 n-3 0.45 +/- 0.03, C20:0 and C20:1 below LOQ (sum 99.2). Table 2, same oil: saponification value 197.3 +/- 3.6 mg KOH (AOCS Cd 3-25), iodine value 45.00 +/- 0.86 (AOCS Cd 1c-85), unsaponifiable matter 0.77 +/- 0.14 g/100 g (AOCS Ca 6a-40), acid value 4.45 +/- 0.69 mg KOH/g, free fatty acid 2.24 +/- 0.35 g oleic/100 g, peroxide value at the limit of detection (0.24 meq/kg), relative density 0.92 (20 C), refractive index 1.46 (20 C). Kernel oil yield 52.86 %. The same paper analyses T. dregeana, a look-alike species: kernel oil palmitic 40.4, oleic 47.6, linoleic 7.89 %, saponification 188.8, iodine 56.8 - not included here. The ranges add PlantFAdb's 'Butter from plants' (1984) T. emetica seed fat (oil 55-65 %): C16:0 38.3, C18:3 1.0, C18:2 10.4, C18:1 48.5, C18:0 2.2 (sum 100.4). Corroboration only: Aldholmi et al. 2024 (Plants 13(16):2234), Saudi T. emetica, quantified just palmitic and oleic acid and found 'higher concentrations of PA than OA (approximately 1.5:1)' in the seed butter. Check: the typical profile implies about 200 mg KOH/g and about 47 g I2/100 g, against the 197.3 and 45.0 measured on the same oil.
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