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

Is Tocopheryl Succinate natural?

It depends. Natural vitamin E succinate retains vegetable-oil tocopherol; synthetic dl-alpha-tocopherol is petrochemical; the succinic cap is petrochemical in both.

INCI nameTocopheryl Succinate
CAS4345-03-3
FormulaC33H54O5 · 530.8 Da
FunctionAntioxidant
FeedstockMost bulk tocopherol, and its succinate ester, is…

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
Naturald-alpha-tocopherol from vegetable oil distillate, esterified with succinic anhydride0.81~30%
Syntheticdl-alpha-tocopherol from petrochemical isophytol, esterified with succinic anhydride0.00~70%
Ask your supplier. A batch-specific certificate of origin or bio-based carbon test (ASTM D6866) settles which route applies.

How we scored it

Natural route: d-alpha-tocopherol (429.7 Da) + succinic cap (0) / 530.8 Da = 0.81. Synthetic dl-tocopherol route = 0.0. Not averaged.
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

Most bulk tocopherol, and its succinate ester, is synthetic dl-alpha-tocopherol from petrochemical isophytol. A smaller natural-vitamin-E-succinate market uses d-alpha-tocopherol from vegetable oil distillates.

In plain English

An antioxidant ester of vitamin E used in skincare. Depending on the source, the vitamin E can be natural, from vegetable oil, or made synthetically from petrochemicals.

CosIng definition: .alpha.-Tocopheryl hydrogen succinate

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Structure

2D structure of Tocopheryl Succinate

4-oxo-4-[[(2R)-2,5,7,8-tetramethyl-2-[(4R,8R)-4,8,12-trimethyltridecyl]-3,4-dihydrochromen-6-yl]oxy]butanoic acid

PubChem CID 20353 ↗

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 Succinate. PubChem CID 20353. National Center for Biotechnology Information. pubchem.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov ↗
  3. 3TOCOPHERYL SUCCINATE. CosIng — European Commission cosmetic ingredient database. ec.europa.eu/cosing ↗
  4. 4TOCOPHERYL SUCCINATE. CosIng u2014 European Commission database for information on cosmetic substances and ingredients. https://ec.europa.eu/growth/tools-databases/cosing/search?search=TOCOPHERYL%20SUCCINATE