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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Oxidation/biocatalysis of citrus-derived valencene | Valencene from orange peel oil (citrus juice byproduct) or fermentation | 1.00 | ~70% | |
| Total chemical synthesis from non-terpene petrochemical building blocks | Petrochemical intermediates | 0.00 | ~30% |
How we scored it
Where it comes from
Nootkatone is mainly produced by oxidising valencene recovered as a byproduct of orange/grapefruit juice processing, or increasingly via fermentation. A smaller share, especially for insect-repellent grades, is built by total synthesis from non-terpene petrochemical feedstocks.
In plain English
A grapefruit-scented compound usually made by chemically converting an orange-peel-oil terpene, sometimes made by fermentation, occasionally built up from scratch synthetically. It smells and tastes like grapefruit.
CosIng definition: Nootkatone is the organic compound that conforms to the formula
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Structure
(4R,4aS,6R)-4,4a-dimethyl-6-prop-1-en-2-yl-3,4,5,6,7,8-hexahydronaphthalen-2-one
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.
- 2Nootkatone. PubChem CID 1268142. National Center for Biotechnology Information. pubchem.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov ↗
- 3NOOTKATONE. CosIng — European Commission cosmetic ingredient database. ec.europa.eu/cosing ↗
- 4NOOTKATONE. CosIng u2014 European Commission database for information on cosmetic substances and ingredients. https://ec.europa.eu/growth/tools-databases/cosing/search?search=NOOTKATONE