Database/Preservative/Sodium Propylparaben
Mostly petroleum · ISO 16128

Is Sodium Propylparaben natural?

Mostly not. The paraben portion is petrochemical, a phenol-derivative ester; only the sodium counter-ion is natural mineral origin.

INCI nameSodium Propylparaben
CAS35285-69-9
FormulaC10H11NaO3 · 202.18 Da
FunctionPreservative
FeedstockPropylparaben is made from petrochemical 4-hydroxybenzoic acid and…

How we scored it

Propylparaben anion (179.2 Da, petrochemical phenol ester) + Na (23.0 Da, natural mineral) -> 23.0/202.2 = 0.11.
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

Propylparaben is made from petrochemical 4-hydroxybenzoic acid and propanol, then neutralised with sodium hydroxide to form the water-soluble salt. Only the small sodium fraction is natural.

In plain English

The sodium salt of propylparaben, a preservative that stops microbial growth. The paraben portion is built from petrochemical phenol chemistry; only its small sodium component is mineral in origin.

CosIng definition: Sodium Propylparaben is the sodium salt of Propylparaben that conforms to the formula:

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Structure

2D structure of Sodium Propylparaben

sodium 4-propoxycarbonylphenolate

PubChem CID 23679044 ↗

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. 2Sodium Propylparaben. PubChem CID 23679044. National Center for Biotechnology Information. pubchem.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov ↗
  3. 3SODIUM PROPYLPARABEN. CosIng — European Commission cosmetic ingredient database. ec.europa.eu/cosing ↗
  4. 4SODIUM PROPYLPARABEN. CosIng u2014 European Commission database for information on cosmetic substances and ingredients. https://ec.europa.eu/growth/tools-databases/cosing/search?search=SODIUM%20PROPYLPARABEN