Poppy Seed Oil
INCI Papaver Somniferum Seed Oil. Also: Poppyseed oil, Papaver somniferum seed oil, Oeillette oil.
Published values
| Saponification value | 186–194 mg KOH/g |
| Used by the calculator | 190.0 mg KOH/g (midpoint) |
| SAP for NaOH | 0.1354 g/g |
| Iodine value | 133–143 g I₂/100 g |
| INS (SAP − IV) | 52 |
| Melting point | — |
| Unsaponifiable matter | ≤ 1 % |
A bar made of 100 % Poppy Seed Oil
Conventional qualities summed from the fatty-acid groups; a single-oil bar is a reference point, not a recipe.
Fatty-acid profile
| Fatty acid | Published range, % | Used | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Palmitic acid | C16:0 · saturated | 7.79–10.15 (typical 8.64) | 8.6 |
| Palmitoleic acid | C16:1 | 0.1–0.17 (typical 0.13) | 0.1 |
| Stearic acid | C18:0 · saturated | 2.05–2.55 (typical 2.29) | 2.3 |
| Oleic acid | C18:1 | 12.68–24.08 (typical 16.64) | 16.6 |
| Linoleic acid | C18:2 | 62.44–75.91 (typical 71.5) | 71.5 |
| α-Linolenic acid | C18:3 n-3 | 0.45–1.02 (typical 0.5) | 0.5 |
| Arachidic acid | C20:0 · saturated | 0.09–0.16 (typical 0.13) | 0.1 |
| Gadoleic acid | C20:1 | 0.07–0.1 (typical 0.08) | 0.1 |
| Behenic acid | C22:0 · saturated | 0.01–0.02 (typical 0.02) | 0.0 |
Where these numbers come from
Section 2.1 (cold pressing), Table 1 fatty-acid composition and density of ten poppy oils with an average row.
Page 11: saponification value 186 to 194, iodine value 133 to 143, unsaponifiable matter not more than 1.0 %, acid value not more than 6.0. Read from the rendered page.
Table 3 cold-pressed poppy oil fatty acids; used for min/max.
Saponification value 193.0 (#15633, plant 10380) quoted as corroboration; 234.0 (#22421, plant 10505, https://fatplants.net/plantfadb/datasets?plant_id=10505) quoted as rejected.
Cited for the rejection only: Table B.4 feedstock oil saponification value 204.33 with specific gravity 0.96.
The 'typical' column is the average row of Table 1 in Gupcso et al. 2023 (Foods 12(17):3165, open access): cold-pressed oils (laboratory hydraulic press, no pre-treatment) from six Hungarian varieties over two seasons - culinary Snow White, Orel, Albakomp and Zeno Plus, industrial Korona and Morgana, ten samples - FAMEs by capillary GC per MSZ EN ISO 12966-2: palmitic 8.64, palmitoleic 0.13, margaric 0.05, stearic 2.29, oleic 16.64, linoleic 71.50, alpha-linolenic 0.50, arachidic 0.13, eicosenoic 0.08, eicosadienoic 0.03, behenic 0.02 % (the caption says '% of total oil'; each row sums to 100 %, so these are percentages of the fatty acids). Across the ten samples: palmitic 7.79-9.89, palmitoleic 0.10-0.17, stearic 2.10-2.55, oleic 12.68-23.37, linoleic 64.02-75.91, alpha-linolenic 0.45-0.55, arachidic 0.10-0.16, eicosenoic 0.07-0.10, behenic 0.01-0.02 %; the blue-seeded industrial varieties carry the most oleic (Morgana 2022: 23.37 % oleic, 64.02 % linoleic). Min/max also include Melo et al. 2022 (Foods 11(19):3027), an expeller-pressed (Komet) oil from Czech seed: palmitic 10.15, palmitoleic 0.17, stearic 2.05, oleic 24.08, linoleic 62.44, alpha-linolenic 1.02, arachidic 0.09 %. Margaric and C20:2 have no key. SAPONIFICATION VALUE, IODINE VALUE AND UNSAPONIFIABLE MATTER are the Indian regulatory standard for poppy seed oil (FSSAI, Food Safety and Standards (Food Products Standards and Food Additives) Regulations 2011, Chapter 2.2, item 2.2.1(9), Version 5 of 1 August 2025, page 11): saponification value 186 to 194, iodine value 133 to 143, unsaponifiable matter not more than 1.0 %, acid value not more than 6.0, refractive index 1.4659-1.4685 at 40 C (butyro-refractometer 60.0 to 64.0). The typical composition implies about 192.5 mg KOH/g and an iodine value near 141, both inside the standard, and PlantFAdb #15633 ('Sesamum indicum and Papaver somniferum oils', 1985, Pakistan) records 193.0 mg KOH/g. READ AND REJECTED: Razaq et al. 2024 (Heliyon 10(19):e36851), a biodiesel study, lists a hot-pressed Pakistani poppy oil at saponification value 204.33 alongside a specific gravity of 0.96 - no poppy oil is that dense (about 0.92) and 204 is 6 % above what any poppy composition implies - so none of its figures are used; PlantFAdb #22421 ('Investigation of Turkish poppy seeds and seed oils', 2004) prints 234.0 mg KOH/g, impossible for a C16/C18 oil. FOR SOAP: one of the most linoleic oils in the dataset (62-76 %), soft and quick to go rancid; a small superfat addition rather than a base oil. INCI name, CAS and EC numbers are CosIng's.
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.