How we scored it
Natural gum-resin: boswellic acids, terpenes and polysaccharides are tree-biosynthesised, all n=1, so 1.0. No synthetic fragments.
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
Gum-resin is tapped from Boswellia serrata trees, mainly in India, then cleaned and graded. No synthetic route exists for this exudate.
In plain English
Indian frankincense gum, a resin that oozes from cuts in the bark of the Boswellia serrata tree. In cosmetics it is used for film-forming, fragrance and skin-conditioning roles. It is a natural tree exudate that is collected and cleaned.
CosIng definition: Boswellia Serrata Gum is the bark exudate of the Boswellia serrata, Burseraceae
References
- 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.
- 2BOSWELLIA SERRATA GUM. CosIng — European Commission cosmetic ingredient database. ec.europa.eu/cosing ↗
- 3BOSWELLIA SERRATA GUM. CosIng u2014 European Commission database for information on cosmetic substances and ingredients. https://ec.europa.eu/growth/tools-databases/cosing/search?search=BOSWELLIA%20SERRATA%20GUM