Database/Preservative/Hydroxyethoxyphenyl Butanone
100% petroleum · ISO 16128

Is Hydroxyethoxyphenyl Butanone natural?

No. The ethoxy-hydroxyphenyl ring comes from petrochemical catechol via ethylvanillin, and the four-carbon ketone chain from acetone, so no atom is natural origin.

INCI nameHydroxyethoxyphenyl Butanone
CAS569646-79-3
FormulaC12H16O3 · 208.25 Da
FunctionPreservative · Skin Conditioning
FeedstockMade by aldol condensation of ethylvanillin with acetone…

How we scored it

C12H16O3 (208.25 Da): 3-ethoxy-4-hydroxyphenyl ring (ethylvanillin, from catechol) plus butanone chain from acetone; all petrochemical; 0 / 208.25 = 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.

Where it comes from

Made by aldol condensation of ethylvanillin with acetone followed by hydrogenation, with ethylvanillin synthesised from catechol or guaethol. No natural-origin route is in use.

In plain English

A synthetic relative of zingerone, the pungent compound of ginger, used to help preserve formulas and as a skin-conditioning ingredient. It is made by chemical synthesis from petrochemical raw materials.

CosIng definition: Hydroxyethoxyphenyl Butanone is the organic compound that conforms to the formula:

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Structure

2D structure of Hydroxyethoxyphenyl Butanone

4-(3-ethoxy-4-hydroxyphenyl)butan-2-one

PubChem CID 45094126 ↗

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. 2Hydroxyethoxyphenyl Butanone. PubChem CID 45094126. National Center for Biotechnology Information. pubchem.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov ↗
  3. 3HYDROXYETHOXYPHENYL BUTANONE. CosIng — European Commission cosmetic ingredient database. ec.europa.eu/cosing ↗
  4. 4HYDROXYETHOXYPHENYL BUTANONE. CosIng u2014 European Commission database for information on cosmetic substances and ingredients. https://ec.europa.eu/growth/tools-databases/cosing/search?search=HYDROXYETHOXYPHENYL%20BUTANONE