Database/Antioxidant/Equol
100% natural origin · ISO 16128

Is Equol natural?

Yes. Commercial cosmetic equol is produced by bacterial fermentation of soy-derived daidzein, a natural bioconversion process.

INCI nameEquol
CAS531-95-3
FormulaC15H14O3 · 242.27 Da
FunctionAntioxidant · Hair Conditioning
FeedstockEquol is produced by fermenting soy germ isoflavones…

How we scored it

Whole molecule is a fermentation metabolite of soy isoflavones; fermentation products = 1.0 by this site's convention.
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

Equol is produced by fermenting soy germ isoflavones (daidzein) with specific bacterial strains. A chemical (non-fermentation) synthesis route exists in research settings but is not the commercial cosmetic-ingredient route.

In plain English

A plant-derived antioxidant compound made when bacteria ferment soy isoflavones. Used in skin and hair care for its antioxidant and conditioning properties.

Structure

2D structure of Equol

(3S)-3-(4-hydroxyphenyl)-3,4-dihydro-2H-chromen-7-ol

PubChem CID 91469 ↗

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. 2Equol. PubChem CID 91469. National Center for Biotechnology Information. pubchem.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov ↗
  3. 3EQUOL. CosIng — European Commission cosmetic ingredient database. ec.europa.eu/cosing ↗
  4. 4EQUOL. CosIng u2014 European Commission database for information on cosmetic substances and ingredients. https://ec.europa.eu/growth/tools-databases/cosing/search?search=EQUOL