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Oils

Moringa Oil

Also: Ben oil, Behen oil, Moringa seed oil, Moringa oleifera seed oil.

Calculate a 100 % Moringa Oil bar

Published values

Saponification value190.4–191.2 mg KOH/g
Used by the calculator190.8 mg KOH/g (midpoint)
SAP for NaOH0.1360 g/g
Iodine value67.8–68.5 g I₂/100 g
INS (SAP − IV)123
Melting point
Unsaponifiable matter0.59–0.65 %

A bar made of 100 % Moringa Oil

Hardness 11 below 29–54
Cleansing 0 below 12–22
Conditioning 81 above 44–69
Bubbly lather 0 below 14–46
Creamy lather 11 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
Myristic acid C14:0 · saturated 0.09–0.72 0.4
Palmitic acid C16:0 · saturated 5.8–6.5 6.2
Palmitoleic acid C16:1 1.2 1.2
Stearic acid C18:0 · saturated 3.9–5.42 4.7
Oleic acid C18:1 77.3–79.5 78.4
Linoleic acid C18:2 0.3–0.54 0.4
α-Linolenic acid C18:3 n-3 1.8–3.46 2.6
Arachidic acid C20:0 · saturated 0.19–2.3 1.2
Behenic acid C22:0 · saturated 4.5–7.2 5.8

Where these numbers come from

Journal of Food Science and Technology (Springer/AFSTI) via PubMed CentralOgunsina B.S., Indira T.N., Bhatnagar A.S., Radha C., Debnath S., Gopala Krishna A.G. Quality characteristics and stability of Moringa oleifera seed oil of Indian origin. J. Food Sci. Technol. 2014, 51(3), 503-510 (doi 10.1007/s13197-011-0519-5) · document dated 2014-03 · read 2026-09-20

Physico-chemical table (IV, SAP, unsaponifiable matter, FFA, PV, RI, density) and fatty-acid composition table for CPMSO and HEMSO.

Foods (MDPI) via PubMed CentralCervera-Chiner L., Pageo S., Juan-Borras M., Garcia-Mares F.J., Castello M.L., Ortola M.D. Fatty Acid Profile and Physicochemical Properties of Moringa oleifera Seed Oil Extracted at Different Temperatures. Foods 2024, 13(17), 2733 (doi 10.3390/foods13172733) · document dated 2024-08-28 · read 2026-09-20

Fatty-acid table by extraction temperature (merged into ranges); SAP 187-219 and IV 124-168 reported but not adopted (see notes).

Primary source (Ogunsina et al., J. Food Sci. Technol. 2014, 51(3):503-510; Indian 'Jaffna' variety seeds from Erode, Tamil Nadu) compared cold-pressed (CPMSO) and hexane-extracted (HEMSO) oil: iodine value 67.8 and 68.5 g I2/100 g, saponification value 190.4 and 191.2 mg KOH/g, unsaponifiable matter 0.59 and 0.65 %, FFA 3.5-4.0 % oleic, PV 1.0-1.02 meq O2/kg, RI 1.47, density 0.90-0.92 g/mL (25 C). Its fatty-acid table (% , CPMSO / HEMSO): myristic 0.24 / 0.72, palmitic 5.8 / 6.1, palmitoleic 1.2 / 1.2, stearic 3.9 / 4.6, oleic 79.5 / 78.7, linoleic ND, linolenic 2.2 / 1.8, arachidic 2.2 / 2.3, gadoleic ND, behenic 5.1 / 4.5. The fatty-acid ranges above merge these with the additional source Cervera-Chiner et al. 2024 (Foods 13:2733; seeds grown in Valencia, Spain, oil pressed at 70-220 C, 3 replicates): myristic 0.089-0.095, palmitic 5.88-6.50, stearic 4.82-5.42, oleic 77.3-77.8, linoleic 0.3-0.536, linolenic 3.215-3.46, arachidic 0.19-0.225, behenic 6.80-7.20 % (no palmitoleic or C20:1 reported). So linoleic 0.3-0.54 is Spanish data only (ND in the Indian oil), palmitoleic 1.2 is Indian data only, and arachidic spans 0.19 (Spain) to 2.3 (India). The Spanish paper's saponification values (219 +/- 3 at 70 C, 187-199 at 100-220 C) and especially its iodine values (124-168 g I2/100 g with SDs up to +/- 43) are far from the Indian values and implausible for an oil with ~78 % oleic acid, so they are reported here but not merged into the field ranges. Melting point: not reported by either source. INCI not verified on CosIng or a producer TDS, so left null.

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.