Database/Viscosity Controlling/Dibenzylidene Sorbitol
Half & half · ISO 16128

Is Dibenzylidene Sorbitol natural?

Half and half. Sorbitol comes from hydrogenated corn or wheat glucose (natural); the two benzylidene units come from benzaldehyde made from petrochemical toluene.

INCI nameDibenzylidene Sorbitol
CAS32647-67-9
FormulaC20H22O6 · 358.4 Da
FunctionViscosity Controlling
FeedstockSorbitol is condensed with two molecules of toluene-derived…

How we scored it

C20H22O6 358.4 Da: sorbitol residue C6H10O6 178.1 natural; two benzylidene C7H6 units 180.3 petrochemical; 178.1 / 358.4 = 0.497, just under half.
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

Sorbitol is condensed with two molecules of toluene-derived benzaldehyde under acid catalysis, losing water. Natural benzaldehyde is not used at scale for this gelling agent.

In plain English

A gelling agent that forms a fine network to thicken oils and stick or gel products. It is made by joining sorbitol, a sugar alcohol from corn or wheat starch, to two benzaldehyde molecules, which are made from petrochemical toluene.

Natural alternatives with the same function

Agar 100% natural origin

A gelling and thickening gum extracted from red seaweed. It is used to give products body and texture,…

 Agarose 100% natural origin

A gelling and thickening ingredient extracted from red seaweed, used to give lotions and gels body.

 Algin 100% natural origin

Sodium alginate, a thickening and binding gum extracted from brown seaweed. It's harvested from algae and processed to…

 Alginic Acid 100% natural origin

A gelling and thickening gum extracted from brown seaweed, the acid form of alginate. It's harvested and purified…

 Aluminum Behenate 100% natural origin

The aluminium salt of behenic acid, a fatty acid from rapeseed or similar seed oils. Used in small…

 Aluminum Distearate 100% natural origin

An aluminium salt of stearic acid, a fatty acid from vegetable oil or animal fat. Used in powders…

Structure

2D structure of Dibenzylidene Sorbitol

(1R)-1-[(4R,4aR,8aS)-2,6-diphenyl-4,4a,8,8a-tetrahydro-[1,3]dioxino[5,4-d][1,3]dioxin-4-yl]ethane-1,2-diol

PubChem CID 10926424 ↗

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. 2Dibenzylidene Sorbitol. PubChem CID 10926424. National Center for Biotechnology Information. pubchem.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov ↗
  3. 3DIBENZYLIDENE SORBITOL. CosIng — European Commission cosmetic ingredient database. ec.europa.eu/cosing ↗
  4. 4DIBENZYLIDENE SORBITOL. CosIng u2014 European Commission database for information on cosmetic substances and ingredients. https://ec.europa.eu/growth/tools-databases/cosing/search?search=DIBENZYLIDENE%20SORBITOL