Mango Butter
INCI Mangifera Indica Seed Butter. Saponified with NaOH it is listed as Sodium Mangoseedate, with KOH as Potassium Mangoseedate. CAS 90063-86-8; EC 290-045-4, as CosIng gives them. Also: Mangifera indica seed butter, Mango kernel fat, Mango kernel butter.
Published values
| Saponification value | 185–198 mg KOH/g |
| Used by the calculator | 191.5 mg KOH/g (midpoint) |
| SAP for NaOH | 0.1365 g/g |
| Iodine value | 32–57 g I₂/100 g |
| INS (SAP − IV) | 147 |
| Melting point | 17.64–34.32 °C |
| Unsaponifiable matter | 0.94–1.9 % |
Soapmaking books print about 0.138 g NaOH per g (median of 4 books), which agrees with ours to within 2 %. Soapmaking books print 0.134-0.145 g NaOH per g for mango butter (one prints 0.184, a slip). India's standard for mango kernel fat sets 185-198 mg KOH/g, and a stearic and oleic fat of its make-up works out at about 190, so we use 191.5 (0.137).
A bar made of 100 % Mango 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 | 64.8 g(62.6–67.0) | 91.0 g(87.9–94.1) |
| 1 kg | 129.7 g(125.3–134.1) | 181.9 g(175.8–188.1) |
| 1 lb (454 g) | 58.8 g(56.8–60.8) | 82.5 g(79.7–85.3) |
| 2 lb (907 g) | 117.7 g(113.7–121.6) | 165.0 g(159.4–170.6) |
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 | 2–10 | 6.0 |
| Stearic acid | C18:0 · saturated | 35–50 | 42.5 |
| Oleic acid | C18:1 | 35–50 | 42.5 |
| Linoleic acid | C18:2 | 1–5 | 3.0 |
| Arachidic acid | C20:0 · saturated | 1–7 | 4.0 |
Recipes that use it
- Turmeric and honey bar 15 % of the oils
- Lemongrass and cedar camp soap 10 % of the oils
- Tomato and charcoal swirl bar 10 % of the oils
Guides that discuss it
- Palm-free soap: what takes palm oil's place
- SAP values: what they measure and why tables disagree
- The soaping oils: what each one brings to a bar
Compared with other oils
Where these numbers come from
Public.Resource.Org copy on the Internet Archive (linked from law.resource.org). Table 1, refined / raw grade 1 / raw grade 2: saponification value 185 to 198 (all three); iodine value (Wijs) 32 to 57; unsaponifiable matter max. 1.5 / 2.5 / 2.5 %; acid value max. 0.5 / 6 / 20; refractive index at 60 C 1.4394-1.4498. Foreword 0.3.1: major fatty acids oleic 33-53 % and stearic 24-49 %; "The raw fat can be used in soap making". Amendment No. 1 (October 1995) adds eco-mark clauses only.
The source of the fatty-acid profile: palmitic 2.0-10.0, stearic 35.0-50.0, oleic 35.0-50.0, linoleic 1.0-5.0, arachidic 1.0-7.0 %; no lauric or myristic acid is listed. Acid value max. 2.0; refractive index (40 C) ca. 1.460. No saponification value.
The source of the melting point (Table 1) and unsaponifiable matter (Table 2). Its saponification values (Table 2) and fatty-acid composition (Table 3) are recorded in the notes and not used.
Regulatory identity standard for the refined commercial product: saponification value 185-198, iodine value (Wijs) 32-57, unsaponifiable matter not more than 1.5%, butyro-refractometer reading at 40 C 43.7-51.6 (or refractive index 1.4550-1.4604). The same figures as IS 9231.
FATTY ACIDS are the Gustav Heess specification for refined mango butter (Sp151030d, 2022): palmitic 2.0-10.0, stearic 35.0-50.0, oleic 35.0-50.0, linoleic 1.0-5.0, arachidic 1.0-7.0 %. A producer's specification rather than a measurement, it agrees with the Indian Standard for mango kernel fat, IS 9231:1979, whose foreword gives the major fatty acids as oleic 33-53 % and stearic 24-49 %; neither document lists lauric or myristic acid. SAPONIFICATION AND IODINE VALUES are IS 9231's Table 1: 185-198 mg KOH/g and 32-57 (Wijs) for the refined grade and both raw grades, figures the FSSAI regulation reproduces. The Heess composition implies about 190 mg KOH/g and an iodine value near 43, inside both. MELTING POINT (17.64-34.32 C) and UNSAPONIFIABLE MATTER (0.94-1.90 %) are Diomande et al. 2021's measurements of four Ivorian varieties (Amelie, Brooks, Kent, Keitt); the wide melting range is real variation between cultivars, two of the four melting well below what is usually called a butter. IS 9231 caps unsaponifiable matter at 1.5 % for the refined grade and 2.5 % for raw. READ AND NOT USED: Diomande et al.'s fatty-acid table (Table 3): lauric 4.03-9.83, myristic 1.85-7.11, palmitic 0.54-6.81, stearic 20.11-40.43, oleic 31.14-37.19, linoleic 3.70-16.91, linolenic 5.34-14.27, arachidic 2.26-11.69 %. The record carried it until 2026-09-25, flagged as disputed. Other work describes mango kernel fat with little or no lauric or myristic acid and under 2-3 % linolenic acid: Muchiri et al. 2012 (four Kenyan varieties: myristic trace to 0.05 %, lauric not detected, linolenic 0.6-1.8 %), Nzikou et al. 2010 (linolenic 2.3 %) and Van Pee et al.'s thirteen-variety survey (linolenic the smallest minor acid); those papers were paywalled and were not transcribed. As recorded, the old profile gave mango butter a cleansing number of about 11, enough for the calculator to suggest it for raising cleansing; the specification's composition gives 0. Diomande et al.'s saponification value, 167.53-188.44 mg KOH/g, is not used either: it sits below both the standard and the 194 their own fatty-acid table implies.
This record is part of the open ingredient database (ODbL), which you can download as CSV or JSON. Found an error or a better primary source? Corrections with a link to the document are welcome at support@soapformulator.com.