Database/Perfuming/Citral Diethyl Acetal
Route-dependent · ISO 16128

Is Citral Diethyl Acetal natural?

It depends. Citral is sold both as an essential-oil isolate and as a synthetic; the ethoxy groups come from ethanol, which is fermentation-derived.

INCI nameCitral Diethyl Acetal
CAS7492-66-2
FormulaC14H26O2 · 226.35 Da
FunctionPerfuming
FeedstockCitral condensed with two molecules of ethanol.

Why the score varies

This ingredient is made commercially by more than one route, and ISO 16128 scores the feedstock actually used. Without a supplier certificate of origin the value cannot be claimed.

RouteFeedstockNOIShareNotes
natural citralcitral from lemongrass or litsea oil + fermentation ethanol1.00Every carbon natural.
synthetic citralcitral from petrochemical isobutylene + fermentation ethanol0.40Two ethoxy groups 2u00d7C2H5O 90.1/226.4 = 0.40.
Ask your supplier. A batch-specific certificate of origin or bio-based carbon test (ASTM D6866) settles which route applies.

How we scored it

Citral Diethyl Acetal C14H26O2 226.4 Da = citral skeleton C10H16 136.2 Da + two ethoxy groups 90.1 Da from fermentation ethanol (natural, as in the site's ethyl esters). Natural-citral route 1.00; synthetic-citral route 0.40. Headline shows the best route.
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

Citral condensed with two molecules of ethanol.

In plain English

A lemon-scented fragrance ingredient made by combining citral (a citrus-smelling compound) with ethanol; it can be made from either natural citrus-oil citral or a synthetic version.

Natural alternatives with the same function

Structure

2D structure of Citral Diethyl Acetal

(2E)-1,1-diethoxy-3,7-dimethylocta-2,6-diene

PubChem CID 5365794 ↗

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. 2Citral Diethyl Acetal. PubChem CID 5365794. National Center for Biotechnology Information. pubchem.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov ↗
  3. 3CITRAL DIETHYL ACETAL. CosIng — European Commission cosmetic ingredient database. ec.europa.eu/cosing ↗
  4. 4CITRAL DIETHYL ACETAL. CosIng u2014 European Commission database for information on cosmetic substances and ingredients. https://ec.europa.eu/growth/tools-databases/cosing/search?search=CITRAL%20DIETHYL%20ACETAL