Is Histidine natural? NOI 1.00

Q: Is Histidine natural?

Histidine has a Natural Origin Index (NOI) of 1.00 (scale 0–1) per ISO 16128. Produced by fermenting plant-derived sugars with amino-acid-producing bacteria. An NOI of 1.00 means 100% of its molecular mass is traceable to a natural, renewable source.

How we scored it

Standard amino acid; fermentation of plant sugars → 100% natural

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 glucose from corn or other starches using engineered bacterial strains.

In plain English

An amino acid that helps skin hold moisture and buffers pH. Produced by fermenting plant sugars with bacteria.

Structure

(2S)-2-amino-3-(1H-imidazol-5-yl)propanoic acid

PubChem CID 6274 ↗

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.
2Histidine. PubChem CID 6274. National Center for Biotechnology Information. pubchem.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov ↗
3HISTIDINE. CosIng — European Commission cosmetic ingredient database. ec.europa.eu/cosing ↗
4HISTIDINE. CosIng u2014 European Commission database for information on cosmetic substances and ingredients. https://ec.europa.eu/growth/tools-databases/cosing/search?search=HISTIDINE