Database/Emulsifying Surfactant/Sorbitan Oleate
100% natural origin · ISO 16128

Is Sorbitan Oleate natural?

Yes. Both sorbitan and oleic acid are natural-origin, plant-oil-derived building blocks with no synthetic fragment.

INCI nameSorbitan Oleate
CAS1338-43-8
FormulaC24H44O6 · 428.6 Da
FunctionEmulsifying Surfactant
FeedstockMade by esterifying sorbitol, a plant-derived sugar alcohol,…

How we scored it

Sorbitan (from sorbitol) + oleic acid, ester condensation; both fragments natural. 1.0.
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

Acid-catalysed ring closure of sorbitol (intramolecular SN2). Sorbitan is the ring at the core of every sorbitan ester and polysorbate. Each curved arrow moves one electron pair, and the film ends on the scores for the whole family.

Where it comes from

Made by esterifying sorbitol, a plant-derived sugar alcohol, with oleic acid from vegetable oil. No petrochemical processing step is involved.

In plain English

An emulsifier that helps oil and water mix in creams and lotions. Made from sorbitol, a sugar alcohol from plants, combined with oleic acid, a fatty acid from vegetable oils. Fully plant-derived.

CosIng definition: Sorbitan oleate

Structure

2D structure of Sorbitan Oleate

[(2R)-2-[(2R,3R,4S)-3,4-dihydroxyoxolan-2-yl]-2-hydroxyethyl] (Z)-octadec-9-enoate

PubChem CID 9920342 ↗

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. 2Sorbitan Oleate. PubChem CID 9920342. National Center for Biotechnology Information. pubchem.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov ↗
  3. 3SORBITAN OLEATE. CosIng — European Commission cosmetic ingredient database. ec.europa.eu/cosing ↗
  4. 4SORBITAN OLEATE. CosIng u2014 European Commission database for information on cosmetic substances and ingredients. https://ec.europa.eu/growth/tools-databases/cosing/search?search=SORBITAN%20OLEATE