Database/Fragrance/Potassium Acesulfame
Mostly natural · ISO 16128

Is Potassium Acesulfame natural?

Mostly. Potassium ion and sulfonyl SO2 are mineral (potash, sulfur trioxide); the ring carbons from diketene (acetic acid or acetone) and the nitrogen from urea-derived sulfamic acid are petrochemical.

INCI namePotassium Acesulfame
CAS55589-62-3
FormulaC4H4KNO4S · 201.24 Da
FunctionFragrance
FeedstockMade industrially by reacting diketene with sulfamic acid…

How we scored it

K 39.10 + SO2 64.06 (sulfur trioxide, mineral) = 103.16 natural; C4H4O2 (diketene) 84.07 + N 14.01 (sulfamic acid from urea) = 98.08 petro; 103.16 / 201.24 = 0.51.
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 industrially by reacting diketene with sulfamic acid (or sulfur trioxide), cyclising the product and neutralising it with potassium hydroxide. No natural-origin route exists; the value comes only from the potassium and sulfonyl parts, which is a judgement call.

In plain English

A calorie-free artificial sweetener, roughly 200 times sweeter than sugar, used in small amounts to flavour lip products and oral care. It is made in a factory from petrochemical building blocks, sulfur-based reagents and potassium hydroxide.

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Structure

2D structure of Potassium Acesulfame

potassium 6-methyl-2,2-dioxo-1-oxa-2lambda6-thia-3-azanidacyclohex-5-en-4-one

PubChem CID 11074431 ↗

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. 2Potassium Acesulfame. PubChem CID 11074431. National Center for Biotechnology Information. pubchem.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov ↗
  3. 3POTASSIUM ACESULFAME. CosIng — European Commission cosmetic ingredient database. ec.europa.eu/cosing ↗
  4. 4POTASSIUM ACESULFAME. CosIng u2014 European Commission database for information on cosmetic substances and ingredients. https://ec.europa.eu/growth/tools-databases/cosing/search?search=POTASSIUM%20ACESULFAME