Database/Hair Conditioning/Aminobutyric Acid
100% natural origin · ISO 16128

Is Aminobutyric Acid natural?

Yes. Non-proteinogenic amino acid (GABA) produced by bacterial fermentation, typically from glutamic acid.

INCI nameAminobutyric Acid
CAS56-12-2
FormulaC4H9NO2 · 103.12 Da
FunctionHair Conditioning
FeedstockCommercially produced by fermenting plant-derived sugars or glutamic…

How we scored it

Whole molecule C4H9NO2 (GABA); fermentation-derived, no fragmentation needed.
What counts. ISO 16128-2 scores the atoms that remain in the final ingredient. Reagents, solvents, catalysts and protecting groups used during manufacture leave no mass behind and are not counted.

Where it comes from

Commercially produced by fermenting plant-derived sugars or glutamic acid with lactic-acid bacteria. No significant petrochemical synthesis route is used commercially.

In plain English

A naturally occurring amino acid made by fermenting plant sugars with bacteria, similar to yogurt fermentation. Used on hair to help with conditioning.

Structure

2D structure of Aminobutyric Acid

4-aminobutanoic acid

PubChem CID 119 ↗

References

  1. 1ISO 16128-1:2016 and ISO 16128-2:2017 — Guidelines on technical definitions and criteria for natural and organic cosmetic ingredients and products. ISO, Geneva.
  2. 2Aminobutyric Acid. PubChem CID 119. National Center for Biotechnology Information. pubchem.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov ↗
  3. 3AMINOBUTYRIC ACID. CosIng — European Commission cosmetic ingredient database. ec.europa.eu/cosing ↗
  4. 4AMINOBUTYRIC ACID. CosIng u2014 European Commission database for information on cosmetic substances and ingredients. https://ec.europa.eu/growth/tools-databases/cosing/search?search=AMINOBUTYRIC%20ACID