Database/Skin Conditioning/Theophylline
100% petroleum · ISO 16128

Is Theophylline natural?

No. Although found in trace amounts in tea, cosmetic-grade theophylline is manufactured synthetically from petrochemical starting materials.

INCI nameTheophylline
CAS58-55-9
FormulaC7H8N4O2 · 180.16 Da
FunctionSkin Conditioning
FeedstockThe dominant commercial route is chemical synthesis from…

How we scored it

Purine alkaloid; commercial-grade material is made by chemical synthesis (e.g. substituted-urea routes) from petrochemical feedstock; trace natural occurrence in tea is not commercially extracted. 0/180=0.0.
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.

Where it comes from

The dominant commercial route is chemical synthesis from petrochemical precursors (e.g. substituted ureas). It occurs naturally in tea leaves but is not extracted at commercial scale for this use.

In plain English

A caffeine-related compound found in trace amounts in tea, but the version used in cosmetics is made synthetically. Used for its conditioning effect on skin.

CosIng definition: Theophylline is the xanthine derivative that conforms to the formula:

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Structure

2D structure of Theophylline

1,3-dimethyl-7H-purine-2,6-dione

PubChem CID 2153 ↗

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. 2Theophylline. PubChem CID 2153. National Center for Biotechnology Information. pubchem.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov ↗
  3. 3THEOPHYLLINE. CosIng — European Commission cosmetic ingredient database. ec.europa.eu/cosing ↗
  4. 4THEOPHYLLINE. CosIng u2014 European Commission database for information on cosmetic substances and ingredients. https://ec.europa.eu/growth/tools-databases/cosing/search?search=THEOPHYLLINE