Database/Antioxidant/Melatonin
100% petroleum · ISO 16128

Is Melatonin natural?

No. Cosmetic-grade melatonin is overwhelmingly made by chemical synthesis; plant/animal extraction is not a significant commercial source.

INCI nameMelatonin
CAS73-31-4
FormulaC13H16N2O2 · 232.28 Da
FunctionAntioxidant
FeedstockManufactured by multi-step chemical synthesis from petrochemical aromatic…

How we scored it

Commercial melatonin is predominantly chemically synthesised from petrochemical aromatic/tryptamine-type precursors; natural extraction is not commercially significant. 0/232 = 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

Manufactured by multi-step chemical synthesis from petrochemical aromatic precursors. Natural extraction from plants or animal tissue is not used at commercial cosmetic-ingredient scale.

In plain English

A hormone-like compound that, for cosmetics, is almost always made by chemical synthesis rather than extracted from plants or animals. Used as an antioxidant in night creams and anti-ageing products.

CosIng definition: Melatonin is the organic compound that conforms to the formula

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Structure

2D structure of Melatonin

N-[2-(5-methoxy-1H-indol-3-yl)ethyl]acetamide

PubChem CID 896 ↗

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. 2Melatonin. PubChem CID 896. National Center for Biotechnology Information. pubchem.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov ↗
  3. 3MELATONIN. CosIng — European Commission cosmetic ingredient database. ec.europa.eu/cosing ↗
  4. 4MELATONIN. CosIng u2014 European Commission database for information on cosmetic substances and ingredients. https://ec.europa.eu/growth/tools-databases/cosing/search?search=MELATONIN