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.
| Route | Feedstock | NOI | Share | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| natural corn-mint menthol esterified with anthranilic acid | Mentha arvensis (corn mint) oil; petrochemical anthranilic acid | 0.56 | majority, natural menthol dominates world supply | |
| synthetic menthol esterified with anthranilic acid | petrochemical menthol synthesis; petrochemical anthranilic acid | 0.00 | significant minority |
How we scored it
Where it comes from
Menthol is either extracted from corn mint oil, Mentha arvensis, a major natural commodity mainly from India and China, or synthesized industrially from petrochemical precursors. Anthranilic acid, the other half of the ester, is always petrochemical.
In plain English
A UV-absorbing ingredient combining menthol with anthranilic acid. The menthol may be naturally extracted from corn mint oil or made synthetically, so its natural content varies depending on which type of menthol was used.
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Structure
(5-methyl-2-propan-2-ylcyclohexyl) 2-aminobenzoate
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.
- 2Menthyl Anthranilate. PubChem CID 8633. National Center for Biotechnology Information. pubchem.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov ↗
- 3MENTHYL ANTHRANILATE. CosIng — European Commission cosmetic ingredient database. ec.europa.eu/cosing ↗
- 4MENTHYL ANTHRANILATE. CosIng u2014 European Commission database for information on cosmetic substances and ingredients. https://ec.europa.eu/growth/tools-databases/cosing/search?search=MENTHYL%20ANTHRANILATE