Database/Denaturant/Denatonium Benzoate
100% petroleum · ISO 16128

Is Denatonium Benzoate natural?

No. Fully synthetic bittering agent assembled from petrochemical aromatic amine, amine and benzoate building blocks.

INCI nameDenatonium Benzoate
CAS3734-33-6
FormulaC28H34N2O3 · 446.6 Da
FunctionDenaturant · Fragrance
FeedstockManufactured by reacting 2,6-xylidine, diethylamine and chloroacetyl chloride,…

How we scored it

Whole molecule is a synthetic quaternary ammonium salt built from petrochemical xylidine, diethylamine and benzoic acid; no natural fragment.
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

Manufactured by reacting 2,6-xylidine, diethylamine and chloroacetyl chloride, all petrochemical, then forming the benzoate salt from petrochemical benzoic acid. No natural production route exists.

In plain English

An intensely bitter-tasting synthetic compound made from petroleum-based chemicals, added in tiny amounts to discourage people, especially children, from swallowing a product.

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Structure

2D structure of Denatonium Benzoate

benzyl-[2-(2,6-dimethylanilino)-2-oxoethyl]-diethylazanium benzoate

PubChem CID 19518 ↗

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. 2Denatonium Benzoate. PubChem CID 19518. National Center for Biotechnology Information. pubchem.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov ↗
  3. 3DENATONIUM BENZOATE. CosIng — European Commission cosmetic ingredient database. ec.europa.eu/cosing ↗
  4. 4DENATONIUM BENZOATE. CosIng u2014 European Commission database for information on cosmetic substances and ingredients. https://ec.europa.eu/growth/tools-databases/cosing/search?search=DENATONIUM%20BENZOATE