Database/Fragrance/Butylparaben
100% petroleum · ISO 16128

Is Butylparaben natural?

No. Both butanol and the phenol-derived benzoic-acid portion are petrochemical fragments with no natural-origin credit.

INCI nameButylparaben
CAS94-26-8
FormulaC11H14O3 · 194.23 Da
FunctionFragrance · Preservative
FeedstockMade by esterifying synthetic butanol with p-hydroxybenzoic acid,…

How we scored it

Ester of butyl alcohol and p-hydroxybenzoic acid; both fragments are petrochemical (synthetic alcohol + phenol-derived acid) = 0.0.
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.

How it’s made

Fischer esterification of 4-hydroxybenzoic acid with butanol. Each curved arrow moves one electron pair, and the film ends on the score above.

Where it comes from

Made by esterifying synthetic butanol with p-hydroxybenzoic acid, both derived from petrochemical feedstocks (benzene/phenol family). No natural production route is used commercially.

In plain English

A preservative that stops mould and bacteria growing in a product. Made synthetically from petrochemical building blocks: butyl alcohol and a phenol-derived acid.

CosIng definition: Butylparaben is the ester of butyl alcohol and p-hydroxybenzoic acid. It conforms to the formula:

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Structure

2D structure of Butylparaben

butyl 4-hydroxybenzoate

PubChem CID 7184 ↗

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. 2Butylparaben. PubChem CID 7184. National Center for Biotechnology Information. pubchem.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov ↗
  3. 3BUTYLPARABEN. CosIng — European Commission cosmetic ingredient database. ec.europa.eu/cosing ↗
  4. 4BUTYLPARABEN. CosIng u2014 European Commission database for information on cosmetic substances and ingredients. https://ec.europa.eu/growth/tools-databases/cosing/search?search=BUTYLPARABEN