Pomegranate Seed Oil
Also: Punica granatum seed oil.
Published values
| Saponification value | 167.9–195 mg KOH/g (typ. 167.9) |
| Used by the calculator | 167.9 mg KOH/g (typical) |
| SAP for NaOH | 0.1197 g/g |
| Iodine value | 219–248.14 g I₂/100 g |
| INS (SAP − IV) | -66 |
| Melting point | — |
| Unsaponifiable matter | 1.95–2.83 % |
A bar made of 100 % Pomegranate Seed Oil
Conventional qualities summed from the fatty-acid groups; a single-oil bar is a reference point, not a recipe.
The calculator uses the published value, because that is what the source says. If you are building a recipe with a lot of this ingredient, weigh the risk: at 13 % it would shift your lye by roughly that much for the portion of the batch it makes up. A certificate of analysis for your own lot settles it. The notes below record which documents were checked.
Fatty-acid profile
| Fatty acid | Published range, % | Used | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Myristic acid | C14:0 · saturated | 0.01 | 0.0 |
| Palmitic acid | C16:0 · saturated | 2.68–7.8 | 5.2 |
| Palmitoleic acid | C16:1 | 0.02 | 0.0 |
| Stearic acid | C18:0 · saturated | 1.57–3.8 | 2.7 |
| Oleic acid | C18:1 | 2.2–9.4 | 5.8 |
| Linoleic acid | C18:2 | 4.49–18.3 | 11.4 |
| α-Linolenic acid | C18:3 n-3 | 0.01–1.36 | 0.7 |
| Punicic acid | C18:3 conj. | 25.9–80.9 | 53.4 |
| α-Eleostearic acid | C18:3 conj. | 1.4–6.1 | 3.8 |
| β-Eleostearic acid | C18:3 conj. | 0.41–10.8 | 5.6 |
| Catalpic acid | C18:3 conj. | 4.78–19.8 | 12.3 |
| Arachidic acid | C20:0 · saturated | 0.35–0.85 | 0.6 |
| Gadoleic acid | C20:1 | 0.46 | 0.5 |
Where these numbers come from
Unroasted seed oil (URS) row: saponification value 167.90, iodine value 248.14, full fatty-acid composition incl. punicic and other CLnA isomers, AV, PV.
Table 1 initial values for three Iranian cultivars: IV 219-230, fatty acids, unsaponifiable matter 1.95-2.83 %, AV, PV.
Fatty-acid composition of untreated oils from three South African cultivars; refractive index; PV.
Fatty-acid ranges across 30 cultivars (punicic 25.9-66.9 %, CLnA isomers); AV, PV; no SAP/IV.
Review Table 1 (pomegranate seed oil): SV 185-195, IV 130-150, unsaponifiable 1.1-1.5 %, SG 0.917-0.921 (secondary values; SAP max only).
PUNICIC ACID (C18:3 c9,t11,c13, a conjugated linolenic acid) is the dominant fatty acid. It is stored under its own key 'punicic', not under 'linolenic' (which holds alpha-linolenic only); the conjugated isomers catalpic, alpha-eleostearic and beta-eleostearic likewise have their own keys. Ranges for all four span the sources below: punicic 78.96 +/- 1.12 % (Amakhmakh et al. 2024, Moroccan 'Sefri', Soxhlet), 75.5-80.9 % (Tavakoli et al. 2024, Iranian cultivars 'Shirin Khafr' 80.9, 'Torsh Sabz' 75.5, 'Rabab' 80.0), 59.1-67.2 % (Kaseke et al. 2021, South African 'Wonderful', 'Herskawitz', 'Acco', untreated), 25.9-66.9 % (Tavakoli et al. 2025, 30 cultivars of the Yazd collection, Iran). Other conjugated isomers: alpha-eleostearic 2.60 % / 1.4-6.1 %, catalpic 4.78 % / 5.3-19.8 %, beta-eleostearic 0.41 % / 2.0-10.8 % (Amakhmakh / Tavakoli 2025). Field values: sapKohMgPerG 'typical' 167.9 = Amakhmakh Table value 167.90 +/- 0.49 mg KOH/g (the only measured SAP in a primary paper opened); the max 195 is the range 185-195 mg KOH/g tabulated for cold-pressed pomegranate seed oil in the systematic review Dash et al. 2026 (Front. Nutr., Table 1, citing their ref. 37), which also lists IV 130-150, unsaponifiable 1.1-1.5 % and specific gravity 0.917-0.921 - second-hand review values, quoted for context. iodineValue 219-248.14 merges Tavakoli 2024 (219 +/- 3, 228 +/- 3, 230 +/- 4 g I2/100 g for the three cultivars) and Amakhmakh (248.14 +/- 2.40); note that two Polish polyurethane papers on commercial cold-pressed oil (Kuranska et al. 2025: 102.7; Malewska et al. 2023: 101 g I2/100 g) report far lower values together with an atypical profile (PUFA 61 %, C22:0 7.88 %), and iodine values of conjugated-triene oils are method-sensitive, so treat IV as indicative. Fatty-acid ranges merge: Amakhmakh (myristic 0.01, palmitic 2.68, palmitoleic 0.02, margaric 0.03, stearic 1.57, oleic 3.63, linoleic 4.49, alpha-linolenic 0.01, arachidic 0.35, gadoleic 0.46 %), Tavakoli 2024 (palmitic 3.02-4.30, stearic 2.00-2.43, oleic 5.97-8.36, linoleic 5.38-7.54, alpha-linolenic 0.63-1.36 %), Kaseke 2021 untreated (palmitic 5.7-7.8, stearic 2.3-2.9, oleic 7.6-9.3, linoleic 12.8-18.3, linolenic 0.06-0.07, arachidic 0.68-0.85 %) and Tavakoli 2025 (palmitic 3.5-5.64, stearic 1.9-3.8, oleic 2.2-9.4, linoleic 4.8-13.9 %). unsaponifiablePercent 1.95-2.83 = Tavakoli 2024 (1.95, 2.25, 2.83 % of oil). Acid values: 0.78 (Amakhmakh), 2.20-2.67 (Tavakoli 2024), 1.88 (Tavakoli 2025) mg KOH/g; RI 1.5176-1.5177 at 25 C (Kaseke). Melting point: not reported. 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.