Database/Antistatic/Carnitine
100% petroleum · ISO 16128

Is Carnitine natural?

No. Carbon skeleton traces to synthetic petrochemical building blocks; a biocatalytic resolution step doesn't change that origin.

INCI nameCarnitine
CAS541-15-1
FormulaC7H15NO3 · 161.20 Da
FunctionAntistatic · Cleansing
FeedstockIndustrial L-carnitine is chemically synthesised from petrochemical intermediates…

How we scored it

C7H15NO3 (161.2 Da); commercial routes build the butyrate skeleton from petrochemical C4 precursors, even when a microbial step resolves stereochemistry → 0/161.2 = 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.

Where it comes from

Industrial L-carnitine is chemically synthesised from petrochemical intermediates (e.g. epichlorohydrin-type routes), sometimes with an enzymatic resolution step to isolate the L-form; that step acts on a synthetic substrate so does not confer natural origin.

In plain English

A compound naturally present in the body that helps skin feel conditioned and reduces static in hair. The cosmetic-grade ingredient is produced by chemical synthesis rather than extracted from food.

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Structure

2D structure of Carnitine

3-hydroxy-4-(trimethylazaniumyl)butanoate

PubChem CID 288 ↗

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. 2Carnitine. PubChem CID 288. National Center for Biotechnology Information. pubchem.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov ↗
  3. 3CARNITINE. CosIng — European Commission cosmetic ingredient database. ec.europa.eu/cosing ↗
  4. 4CARNITINE. CosIng u2014 European Commission database for information on cosmetic substances and ingredients. https://ec.europa.eu/growth/tools-databases/cosing/search?search=CARNITINE