Database/Chelating/Trisodium EDTA
Mostly petroleum · ISO 16128

Is Trisodium EDTA natural?

Mostly not. The EDTA backbone is built from petrochemical ethylenediamine and chloroacetate; only the sodium counter-ions are natural-origin mineral mass.

INCI nameTrisodium EDTA
CAS150-38-9
FormulaC10H13N2Na3O8 · 358.19 Da
FunctionChelating
FeedstockThe EDTA core is synthesised from petrochemical ethylenediamine…

How we scored it

Na3 (68.97 Da, mineral, natural) + synthetic EDTA backbone C10H13N2O8 (289.22 Da, petrochemical ethylenediamine route) → 68.97/358.19 = 0.19.
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 EDTA core is synthesised from petrochemical ethylenediamine reacted with formaldehyde/cyanide or chloroacetic acid, then neutralised with sodium hydroxide. No natural-feedstock route exists for the organic backbone.

In plain English

A water-softening ingredient that binds trace metal ions so they can't destabilise a formula. Built from a fully lab-made molecule (EDTA) combined with sodium; the core structure is not derived from plants.

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Structure

2D structure of Trisodium EDTA

trisodium;2-[2-[bis(carboxylatomethyl)amino]ethyl-(carboxymethyl)amino]acetate

PubChem CID 9008 ↗

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. 2Trisodium EDTA. PubChem CID 9008. National Center for Biotechnology Information. pubchem.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov ↗
  3. 3TRISODIUM EDTA. CosIng — European Commission cosmetic ingredient database. ec.europa.eu/cosing ↗
  4. 4TRISODIUM EDTA. CosIng u2014 European Commission database for information on cosmetic substances and ingredients. https://ec.europa.eu/growth/tools-databases/cosing/search?search=TRISODIUM%20EDTA