How we scored it
Purine alkaloid extracted intact from cacao; no atoms replaced during isolation, so all 180.16 Da counts as cacao-derived.
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
Theobromine is recovered by extraction from cocoa (Theobroma cacao) bean shells, a byproduct stream of chocolate and cocoa butter production. A minor chemical-synthesis route from xanthine exists but is not significant for cosmetic-grade material.
In plain English
A natural stimulant compound found in cacao beans, used here for its soothing skin-conditioning effect and light chocolate-like scent. It's recovered from cocoa bean shells left over from chocolate making, rather than being separately grown or synthesized.
Structure
3,7-dimethylpurine-2,6-dione
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.
- 2Theobromine. PubChem CID 5429. National Center for Biotechnology Information. pubchem.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov ↗
- 3THEOBROMINE. CosIng — European Commission cosmetic ingredient database. ec.europa.eu/cosing ↗
- 4THEOBROMINE. CosIng u2014 European Commission database for information on cosmetic substances and ingredients. https://ec.europa.eu/growth/tools-databases/cosing/search?search=THEOBROMINE