Database/Preservative/Myristalkonium Chloride
Mostly natural · ISO 16128

Is Myristalkonium Chloride natural?

Mostly. Fatty tetradecyl chain is natural; the benzyl group, methyls, nitrogen and chloride counter-ion all trace to petrochemical quaternising reagents.

INCI nameMyristalkonium Chloride
CAS139-08-2
FormulaC23H42ClN · 368.0 Da
FunctionPreservative
FeedstockMade by quaternising a fatty myristyl amine with…

How we scored it

Tetradecyl chain (197 Da, natural) vs benzyl+2 methyl+N+Cl (171 Da, from toluene/methanol/ammonia/methyl chloride, petrochemical) / 368 Da ≈ 0.54.
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 by quaternising a fatty myristyl amine with benzyl chloride. The C14 alkyl chain is oleochemical; the benzyl group, methyls, nitrogen and chloride counter-ion trace to petrochemical toluene, methanol/ammonia and methyl/benzyl chloride.

In plain English

A preservative surfactant made by joining a coconut- or palm-derived fatty chain to a synthetic benzyl-ammonium group. Used in small amounts in cosmetic formulas to control microbial growth.

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Structure

2D structure of Myristalkonium Chloride

benzyl-dimethyl-tetradecylazanium chloride

PubChem CID 8755 ↗

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. 2Myristalkonium Chloride. PubChem CID 8755. National Center for Biotechnology Information. pubchem.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov ↗
  3. 3MYRISTALKONIUM CHLORIDE. CosIng — European Commission cosmetic ingredient database. ec.europa.eu/cosing ↗
  4. 4MYRISTALKONIUM CHLORIDE. CosIng u2014 European Commission database for information on cosmetic substances and ingredients. https://ec.europa.eu/growth/tools-databases/cosing/search?search=MYRISTALKONIUM%20CHLORIDE