Database/Tonic/Geranyl Acetate
Route-dependent · ISO 16128

Is Geranyl Acetate natural?

It depends. The previous table had only the fully natural and fully synthetic ends and skipped the middle case that the sibling geranyl formate entry already carries. Most synthetic geraniol is made from myrcene obtained by pyrolysing turpentine, so that carbon is natural origin and only the acetyl cap is petrochemical.

INCI nameGeranyl Acetate
CAS105-87-3
FormulaC12H20O2 · 196.29 Da
FunctionTonic · Perfuming
FeedstockNatural material is fractionally distilled from citronella or…

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
essential-oil isolationcitronella or palmarosa oil, fractionally distilled1.00~30%
natural or turpentine-derived geraniol acetylated with petrochemical acetic anhydrideturpentine myrcene or essential-oil geraniol; acetic anhydride0.78~45%only the 43.04 Da acetyl cap is petrochemical
petrochemical geraniol acetylated with acetic anhydridefully petrochemical geraniol; acetic anhydride0.00~25%
Ask your supplier. A batch-specific certificate of origin or bio-based carbon test (ASTM D6866) settles which route applies.

How we scored it

Geranyl acetate is C12H20O2, 196.29 Da: the geranyl fragment C10H17O is 153.25 Da and the acetyl cap C2H3O is 43.04 Da. Material distilled from citronella or palmarosa oil is a whole natural molecule, 1.00. Geraniol from essential oil or turpentine-derived myrcene, acetylated with petrochemical acetic anhydride, gives 153.25/196.29 = 0.78. Geraniol built from petrochemical feedstocks gives 0.00.
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.

How it’s made

Acetylation of geraniol with acetic anhydride. Each curved arrow moves one electron pair, and the film ends on the score above.

Where it comes from

Natural material is fractionally distilled from citronella or palmarosa oil. The rest is made by acetylating geraniol with acetic anhydride; that geraniol comes mostly from turpentine-derived myrcene, and in a smaller share from fully petrochemical routes.

In plain English

A rose- and floral-scented fragrance ingredient. It occurs naturally in citronella and palmarosa oils, but much of the commercial supply is manufactured synthetically from petrochemical feedstocks.

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Structure

2D structure of Geranyl Acetate

[(2E)-3,7-dimethylocta-2,6-dienyl] acetate

PubChem CID 1549026 ↗

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. 2Geranyl Acetate. PubChem CID 1549026. National Center for Biotechnology Information. pubchem.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov ↗
  3. 3GERANYL ACETATE. CosIng — European Commission cosmetic ingredient database. ec.europa.eu/cosing ↗
  4. 4GERANYL ACETATE. CosIng u2014 European Commission database for information on cosmetic substances and ingredients. https://ec.europa.eu/growth/tools-databases/cosing/search?search=GERANYL%20ACETATE