How we scored it
C4H8O4 ketotetrose sugar; commercially made by Gluconobacter fermentation/oxidation of erythritol, a fermentation product → 1.0.
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 fermenting/oxidising erythritol (itself a fermentation product of glucose) with acetic acid bacteria such as Gluconobacter. No significant petrochemical route.
In plain English
A plant-sugar-derived compound used in sunless tanning products to gradually darken skin. Made by fermenting a natural sugar alcohol with bacteria.
Structure
1,3,4-trihydroxybutan-2-one
References
- 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.
- 2Erythrulose. PubChem CID 162406. National Center for Biotechnology Information. pubchem.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov ↗
- 3ERYTHRULOSE. CosIng — European Commission cosmetic ingredient database. ec.europa.eu/cosing ↗
- 4ERYTHRULOSE. CosIng u2014 European Commission database for information on cosmetic substances and ingredients. https://ec.europa.eu/growth/tools-databases/cosing/search?search=ERYTHRULOSE