Database/Antioxidant/Ethylhexyl Ferulate
Route-dependent · ISO 16128

Is Ethylhexyl Ferulate natural?

It depends. Ferulic acid is extracted from rice bran but is also made from synthetic vanillin; 2-ethylhexanol is always petrochemical.

INCI nameEthylhexyl Ferulate
CAS391900-25-7
FormulaC18H26O4 · 306.4 Da
FunctionAntioxidant · Uv Absorber
FeedstockFerulic acid esterified with 2-ethylhexanol.

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
rice-bran ferulic acidferulic acid from rice-bran oil (gamma-oryzanol) + petrochemical 2-ethylhexanol0.58Feruloyl C10H9O3 177.2/306.4 = 0.58.
synthetic ferulic acidferulic acid from synthetic vanillin and malonic acid + 2-ethylhexanol0.00No natural carbon.
Ask your supplier. A batch-specific certificate of origin or bio-based carbon test (ASTM D6866) settles which route applies.

How we scored it

Ethylhexyl Ferulate C18H26O4 306.4 Da: feruloyl fragment C10H9O3 177.2 Da is natural when the ferulic acid comes from rice bran; the 2-ethylhexyl fragment 129.2 Da is petrochemical in every route. Routes: rice-bran 0.58, synthetic 0.00. 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

Ferulic acid esterified with 2-ethylhexanol.

In plain English

An antioxidant and light-filtering ingredient made by combining ferulic acid, a plant antioxidant, with a synthetic fatty alcohol; the ferulic acid is usually plant-extracted but can also be made synthetically.

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Structure

2D structure of Ethylhexyl Ferulate

2-ethylhexyl (E)-3-(4-hydroxy-3-methoxyphenyl)prop-2-enoate

PubChem CID 11961066 ↗

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. 2Ethylhexyl Ferulate. PubChem CID 11961066. National Center for Biotechnology Information. pubchem.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov ↗
  3. 3ETHYLHEXYL FERULATE. CosIng — European Commission cosmetic ingredient database. ec.europa.eu/cosing ↗
  4. 4ETHYLHEXYL FERULATE. CosIng u2014 European Commission database for information on cosmetic substances and ingredients. https://ec.europa.eu/growth/tools-databases/cosing/search?search=ETHYLHEXYL%20FERULATE