Database/Fragrance/Methyl Anthranilate
100% petroleum · ISO 16128

Is Methyl Anthranilate natural?

No. Commercial-scale methyl anthranilate is synthesized from petrochemical anthranilic acid and methanol; natural essential-oil extraction is not a significant supply route.

INCI nameMethyl Anthranilate
CAS134-20-3
FormulaC8H9NO2 · 151.16 Da
FunctionFragrance
FeedstockMethyl Anthranilate is manufactured industrially by esterifying synthetic…

How we scored it

Anthranilic acid (aromatic amine from petrochemical benzene derivatives) esterified with methanol (petrochemical); commercial supply overwhelmingly synthetic despite trace natural occurrence.
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.

How it’s made

Fischer esterification of anthranilic acid with methanol. Each curved arrow moves one electron pair, and the film ends on the score above.

Where it comes from

Methyl Anthranilate is manufactured industrially by esterifying synthetic anthranilic acid, a benzene derivative, with methanol. It also occurs naturally in trace amounts in grape and orange blossom oils, but that is not the commercial ingredient source.

In plain English

A fragrance ingredient with a grape-like scent, used to perfume cosmetic products. It's manufactured synthetically from petrochemical raw materials, even though the same scent molecule also occurs naturally in grapes and orange blossoms.

CosIng definition: Methyl Anthranilate is the ester of methyl alcohol and 2-aminobenzoic acid. It conforms to the formula:

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Structure

2D structure of Methyl Anthranilate

methyl 2-aminobenzoate

PubChem CID 8635 ↗

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. 2Methyl Anthranilate. PubChem CID 8635. National Center for Biotechnology Information. pubchem.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov ↗
  3. 3METHYL ANTHRANILATE. CosIng — European Commission cosmetic ingredient database. ec.europa.eu/cosing ↗
  4. 4METHYL ANTHRANILATE. CosIng u2014 European Commission database for information on cosmetic substances and ingredients. https://ec.europa.eu/growth/tools-databases/cosing/search?search=METHYL%20ANTHRANILATE