Database/Antioxidant/Tocopheryl Nicotinate
Route-dependent · ISO 16128

Is Tocopheryl Nicotinate natural?

It depends. Route-dependent: natural vegetable-oil tocopherol vs synthetic petrochemical tocopherol, both esterified with nicotinic acid made from petrochemical 3-picoline.

INCI nameTocopheryl Nicotinate
CAS16676-75-8
FormulaC35H53NO3 · 535.8 Da
FunctionAntioxidant · Skin Conditioning
FeedstockTocopheryl Nicotinate is made by esterifying tocopherol (vitamin…

Why the score varies

This ingredient is made commercially by more than one route, and ISO 16128 scores the feedstock actually used. Without a supplier certificate of origin the value cannot be claimed.

RouteFeedstockNOIShareNotes
natural d-alpha-tocopherol esterifiedvegetable oil (soy/sunflower) tocopherol + synthetic nicotinic acid0.80~35%
synthetic dl-alpha-tocopherol esterifiedpetrochemical trimethylhydroquinone + isophytol, plus synthetic nicotinic acid0.00~65%
Ask your supplier. A batch-specific certificate of origin or bio-based carbon test (ASTM D6866) settles which route applies.

How we scored it

Tocopherol C29H50O2 (430.7) esterified with nicotinic acid C6H5NO2 (123.1, petrochemical 3-picoline route) - H2O (18.0) = 535.8 (matches given MW); natural-tocopherol route 429.7/535.8=0.80, synthetic-tocopherol route 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

Tocopheryl Nicotinate is made by esterifying tocopherol (vitamin E) with nicotinic acid; the nicotinic acid is manufactured from petrochemical 3-picoline/3-cyanopyridine regardless of source. The tocopherol portion may be natural vegetable-oil-derived d-alpha-tocopherol or fully synthetic dl-alpha-tocopherol depending on supplier.

In plain English

A form of Vitamin E combined with niacin (vitamin B3), used to condition and protect skin. The vitamin E portion may come from vegetable oils or be made synthetically; the niacin part is always manufactured chemically.

CosIng definition: [2R-[2R*(4R*,8R*)]]-3,4-dihydro-2,5,7,8-tetramethyl-2-(4,8,12-trimethyltridecyl)-2H-1-benzopyran-6-yl nicotinate / [2R*(4R*,8R*)]-(.+-.)-3,4-dihydro-2,5,7,8-tetramethyl-2-(4,8,12-trimethyltridecyl)-2H-1-benzopyran-6-yl nicotinate

Natural alternatives with the same function

Structure

2D structure of Tocopheryl Nicotinate

[(2R)-2,5,7,8-tetramethyl-2-[(4R,8R)-4,8,12-trimethyltridecyl]-3,4-dihydrochromen-6-yl] pyridine-3-carboxylate

PubChem CID 27990 ↗

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. 2Tocopheryl Nicotinate. PubChem CID 27990. National Center for Biotechnology Information. pubchem.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov ↗
  3. 3TOCOPHERYL NICOTINATE. CosIng — European Commission cosmetic ingredient database. ec.europa.eu/cosing ↗
  4. 4TOCOPHERYL NICOTINATE. CosIng u2014 European Commission database for information on cosmetic substances and ingredients. https://ec.europa.eu/growth/tools-databases/cosing/search?search=TOCOPHERYL%20NICOTINATE