Database/Absorbent/Sodium Starch Octenylsuccinate
Mostly natural · ISO 16128

Is Sodium Starch Octenylsuccinate natural?

Mostly. Natural starch lightly esterified with petrochemical octenylsuccinic anhydride and neutralized with sodium; starch mass dominates.

INCI nameSodium Starch Octenylsuccinate
CAS66829-29-6
FunctionAbsorbent · Emulsion Stabilising
FeedstockMade from corn or waxy maize starch reacted…

How we scored it

Starch backbone ~97% w/w natural; octenylsuccinate ester ~3% w/w petrochemical (1-octene+maleic anhydride, regulatory max substitution level), sodium-neutralized; 97/100=0.97.
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

Starch alkoxide opens octenylsuccinic anhydride; the carboxylate pairs with Na⁺. Each curved arrow moves one electron pair, and the film ends on the score above.

Where it comes from

Made from corn or waxy maize starch reacted with a small amount of octenyl succinic anhydride (from petrochemical 1-octene and maleic anhydride), then neutralized with sodium hydroxide. The starch backbone supplies almost all the mass.

In plain English

A modified starch lightly treated with octenyl succinic acid and neutralized with sodium. Absorbs oil, stabilizes emulsions and adjusts the texture of a formula.

CosIng definition: Starch, esters with sodium hydrogen octenylbutanedioate

Natural alternatives with the same function

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 STARCH OCTENYLSUCCINATE. CosIng — European Commission cosmetic ingredient database. ec.europa.eu/cosing ↗
  3. 3SODIUM STARCH OCTENYLSUCCINATE. CosIng u2014 European Commission database for information on cosmetic substances and ingredients. https://ec.europa.eu/growth/tools-databases/cosing/search?search=SODIUM%20STARCH%20OCTENYLSUCCINATE