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Butters

Mango Butter

INCI Mangifera Indica Seed Butter. Saponified with NaOH it is listed as Sodium Mangoseedate, with KOH as Potassium Mangoseedate. Also: Mangifera indica seed butter, Mango kernel fat, Mango kernel butter.

Calculate a 100 % Mango Butter bar

Published values

Saponification value167.53–188.44 mg KOH/g
Used by the calculator178.0 mg KOH/g (midpoint)
SAP for NaOH0.1269 g/g
Iodine value44.84–59.41 g I₂/100 g
INS (SAP − IV)126
Melting point17.64–34.32 °C
Unsaponifiable matter0.94–1.9 %

A bar made of 100 % Mango Butter

Hardness 45 29–54
Cleansing 11 below 12–22
Conditioning 54 44–69
Bubbly lather 11 below 14–46
Creamy lather 34 16–48

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

This record is disputed. This profile is one laboratory's measurement of four Ivorian cultivars, and independent sources contradict it on three acids. It records lauric 4-10 % and myristic 2-7 %, where Muchiri et al. 2012 found myristic at trace to 0.05 % across four Kenyan varieties and did not detect lauric at all, and it records alpha-linolenic 5-14 % against 0.6-1.8 % in that same study and 2.3 % in Nzikou et al. 2010. Van Pee et al.'s thirteen-variety survey found linolenic to be the smallest minor acid in every variety, which is the reverse of what this record shows. For a soapmaker this matters because those acids drive the cleansing number: as recorded, mango butter scores about 11 for cleansing, and the mainstream composition would put it near zero. Treat the qualities for this ingredient as unsettled, and prefer a certificate of analysis for your own lot. The corroborating papers were paywalled, so they have not been transcribed into this record in place of the source that was opened.

Fatty-acid profile

Fatty acidPublished range, %Used
Lauric acid C12:0 · saturated 4.03–9.83 6.9
Myristic acid C14:0 · saturated 1.85–7.11 4.5
Palmitic acid C16:0 · saturated 0.54–6.81 3.7
Stearic acid C18:0 · saturated 20.11–40.43 30.3
Oleic acid C18:1 31.14–37.19 34.2
Linoleic acid C18:2 3.7–16.91 10.3
α-Linolenic acid C18:3 n-3 5.34–14.27 9.8
Arachidic acid C20:0 · saturated 2.26–11.69 7.0

Where these numbers come from

World Journal of Advanced Research and Reviews (GSC Online Press), open accessDiomande M, Konan KH, Koffi TDM, Gbotognon JO, Kanga KA, Kouadio EJP, Kouame LP. "Physicochemical characteristics and fatty acid composition of kernels oil from four mangoes varieties (Mangifera indica) (Kent, Brooks, Keitt and Amelie) harvested, processed in North of Cote d'Ivoire." World J Adv Res Rev. 2021;11(3):102-108. doi:10.30574/wjarr.2021.11.3.0334 · document dated 2021 · read 2026-09-21

Table 1 (physical properties incl. melting point), Table 2 (chemical properties: SAP, iodine, unsaponifiable matter), Table 3 (complete fatty-acid composition), all broken down by the four mango varieties studied.

Food Safety and Standards Authority of India (FSSAI), Ministry of Health and Family Welfare, Government of IndiaFood Safety and Standards (Food Products Standards and Food Additives) Regulations, 2011 - Chapter 2.2 'Fats, Oils and Fat Emulsions', Version 5 (01.08.2025), item 8 'Mango Kernel Fat' · document dated 2025-08-01 · read 2026-09-21

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). Used as corroboration only; the structured fields use Diomande et al.'s measured values.

All structured fields are from a single complete primary source, Diomande et al. 2021 (World Journal of Advanced Research and Reviews, open access), which measured four Ivorian mango varieties (Amelie, Brooks, Kent, Keitt) individually - the min/max spans the four varieties' own measured values, not a literature compilation. Table 1: melting point 17.64-34.32 C (a wide spread - two of the four varieties melt well below what is usually called a 'butter', reflecting real cultivar variation in this kernel fat). Table 2: saponification number 167.53-188.44 mg KOH/g; iodine value (Wijs) 44.84-59.41 gI2/100g; unsaponifiable matter 0.94-1.90% of total lipid. Table 3: complete fatty-acid profile (8 acids; each variety's own values sum to approximately 100%): lauric 4.03-9.83%, myristic 1.85-7.11%, palmitic 0.54-6.81%, stearic 20.11-40.43%, arachidic 2.26-11.69%, linolenic 5.34-14.27%, linoleic 3.70-16.91%, oleic 31.14-37.19%. Cross-checked against the FSSAI (India) 'Mango Kernel Fat' regulatory standard (Chapter 2.2, item 8): saponification value 185-198, iodine value (Wijs) 32-57, unsaponifiable matter not more than 1.5% - overlaps this paper's measured ranges reasonably well (the FSSAI standard governs the refined commercial product; Diomande et al. analyzed raw kernel oil from named cultivars, hence the slightly wider/lower spread). No melting point or fatty-acid table is given by the FSSAI standard (it uses a butyro-refractometer/refractive-index identity test instead), so those two fields rely on Diomande et al. alone. DISPUTED, PENDING CORROBORATION (flagged 2026-09-21): this is a single-source profile from four Ivorian cultivars, and it disagrees with the mainstream description of mango kernel fat on three fields. It reports lauric 4.03-9.83 % and myristic 1.85-7.11 %, where mango kernel fat is usually described as carrying little or none of either, and alpha-linolenic 5.34-14.27 % against a more usual figure below 2 %. Those values give the fat a cleansing number of about 11 in the soap-quality convention, which is not how mango butter behaves. Treat the profile as one laboratory's measurement of four specific cultivars rather than as a general figure for the ingredient, until a second primary source corroborates it.

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.