Database/Skin Conditioning/Carnosine
100% natural origin · ISO 16128

Is Carnosine natural?

Yes. Both units are amino acids, and peptides built from amino acids count as natural origin here even though beta-alanine is usually made by chemical synthesis.

INCI nameCarnosine
CAS305-84-0
FormulaC9H14N4O3 · 226.23 Da
FunctionSkin Conditioning
FeedstockMade by coupling L-histidine (fermentation) with beta-alanine, which…

How we scored it

Carnosine C9H14N4O3, 226.2 Da = beta-alanyl-L-histidine. Peptides built from amino acids are natural origin on this site, beta-alanine included (as Anserine and Tetrapeptide-5): 226 / 226 = 1.00.
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

Made by coupling L-histidine (fermentation) with beta-alanine, which is mostly made from acrylonitrile, with a smaller fermentation route.

In plain English

A naturally occurring pairing of two amino acids that supports skin's antioxidant defences. Manufactured by joining the amino acids beta-alanine and histidine.

Structure

2D structure of Carnosine

(2S)-2-(3-aminopropanoylamino)-3-(1H-imidazol-5-yl)propanoic acid

PubChem CID 439224 ↗

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. 2Carnosine. PubChem CID 439224. National Center for Biotechnology Information. pubchem.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov ↗
  3. 3CARNOSINE. CosIng — European Commission cosmetic ingredient database. ec.europa.eu/cosing ↗
  4. 4CARNOSINE. CosIng u2014 European Commission database for information on cosmetic substances and ingredients. https://ec.europa.eu/growth/tools-databases/cosing/search?search=CARNOSINE