Database/Humectant/Choline Chloride
Mostly petroleum · ISO 16128

Is Choline Chloride natural?

Mostly not. Quaternary ammonium cation built from natural-gas-derived trimethylamine and petrochemical ethylene oxide; only the mineral chloride is natural.

INCI nameCholine Chloride
CAS67-48-1
FormulaC5H14ClNO · 139.62 Da
FunctionHumectant · Skin Conditioning
FeedstockMade by reacting trimethylamine (from methanol and ammonia)…

How we scored it

Cation (CH3)3N+CH2CH2OH 104.17 Da from petrochemical trimethylamine + ethylene oxide (n=0) + Cl- 35.45 Da mineral counter-ion (n=1) -> 35.45/139.62=0.25.
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 reacting trimethylamine (from methanol and ammonia) with ethylene oxide and hydrochloric acid; both organic reagents are fossil-derived. The chloride counter-ion traces to mineral salt (brine).

In plain English

A manufactured salt related to a nutrient found in foods like eggs, but made from petroleum-derived chemicals rather than extracted from food. Helps condition hair and hold moisture in skin.

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Structure

2D structure of Choline Chloride

2-hydroxyethyl(trimethyl)azanium chloride

PubChem CID 6209 ↗

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. 2Choline Chloride. PubChem CID 6209. National Center for Biotechnology Information. pubchem.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov ↗
  3. 3CHOLINE CHLORIDE. CosIng — European Commission cosmetic ingredient database. ec.europa.eu/cosing ↗
  4. 4CHOLINE CHLORIDE. CosIng u2014 European Commission database for information on cosmetic substances and ingredients. https://ec.europa.eu/growth/tools-databases/cosing/search?search=CHOLINE%20CHLORIDE