Database/Astringent/Ionone
Route-dependent · ISO 16128

Is Ionone natural?

It depends. Ionone is made by condensing citral with acetone; with natural citral the C10 fragment (about 75% of the mass) is natural origin, but most commercial ionone uses synthetic citral.

INCI nameIonone
CAS8013-90-9
FormulaC13H20O · 192.30 Da
FunctionAstringent · Perfuming
FeedstockAsk the supplier which citral is used; bulk…

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
Natural citralLemongrass or litsea citral + acetone0.75MinorC10 fragment natural, acetone petrochemical
Synthetic citralIsobutene-derived citral + acetone0.00DominantFully synthetic
Ask your supplier. A batch-specific certificate of origin or bio-based carbon test (ASTM D6866) settles which route applies.

How we scored it

C13H20O built from citral (C10) condensed with acetone (C3, petrochemical). Commercial ionone is fully synthesised, not isolated from essential oils. 0.0.
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

Ask the supplier which citral is used; bulk fragrance ionone is fully synthetic.

In plain English

A violet/floral fragrance ingredient used to perfume cosmetics. Although it occurs in trace amounts in some plants, the commercial material is manufactured by chemical synthesis, not extracted from nature.

CosIng definition: Cyclocitrylidenacetone, alpha- and beta-isomers

Natural alternatives with the same function

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 Agrimonia Eupatoria Root Extract 100% natural origin

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Structure

2D structure of Ionone

4-(2,6,6-trimethylcyclohex-2-en-1-yl)but-3-en-2-one

PubChem CID 24680 ↗

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. 2Ionone. PubChem CID 24680. National Center for Biotechnology Information. pubchem.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov ↗
  3. 3IONONE. CosIng — European Commission cosmetic ingredient database. ec.europa.eu/cosing ↗
  4. 4IONONE. CosIng u2014 European Commission database for information on cosmetic substances and ingredients. https://ec.europa.eu/growth/tools-databases/cosing/search?search=IONONE