Database/Antistatic/Lauroyl Sarcosine
Mostly natural · ISO 16128

Is Lauroyl Sarcosine natural?

Mostly. Lauric acid is natural; the N-methylglycine (sarcosine) portion is made from petrochemical chloroacetic acid and methylamine.

INCI nameLauroyl Sarcosine
CAS97-78-9
FormulaC15H29NO3 · 271.40 Da
FunctionAntistatic · Cleansing
FeedstockMade from coconut or palm-kernel lauric acid condensed…

How we scored it

Lauroyl C12H23O (183, natural); sarcosine backbone C3H6NO2 (88, chloroacetate/methylamine route, petrochemical) = 271 -> 183/271 = 0.68.
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 from coconut or palm-kernel lauric acid condensed with sarcosine, industrially produced from chloroacetic acid and methylamine. This is the free-acid form used as a surfactant intermediate.

In plain English

A mild cleansing surfactant made from coconut fatty acid joined to a small amino-acid-like molecule. Used in toothpaste and gentle cleansers to help lift away dirt and oil.

CosIng definition: N-Lauroylsarcosine

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Structure

2D structure of Lauroyl Sarcosine

2-[dodecanoyl(methyl)amino]acetic acid

PubChem CID 7348 ↗

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. 2Lauroyl Sarcosine. PubChem CID 7348. National Center for Biotechnology Information. pubchem.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov ↗
  3. 3LAUROYL SARCOSINE. CosIng — European Commission cosmetic ingredient database. ec.europa.eu/cosing ↗
  4. 4LAUROYL SARCOSINE. CosIng u2014 European Commission database for information on cosmetic substances and ingredients. https://ec.europa.eu/growth/tools-databases/cosing/search?search=LAUROYL%20SARCOSINE