Is Trisodium Nitrilotriacetate natural? NOI 0.27

Q: Is Trisodium Nitrilotriacetate natural?

Trisodium Nitrilotriacetate has a Natural Origin Index (NOI) of 0.27 (scale 0–1) per ISO 16128. Sodium is mineral and natural; the nitrilotriacetate chelating backbone is built from petrochemical formaldehyde and cyanide. An NOI of 0.27 means 27% of its molecular mass is traceable to a natural, renewable source.

How we scored it

Na3 69.0 Da (mineral, natural) + nitrilotriacetate core C6H6NO6 188.1 Da (synthetic, formaldehyde/ammonia/cyanide route) = 257.08 Da. 69.0/257.08 = 0.27.

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

Nitrilotriacetic acid is synthesised from formaldehyde, ammonia and sodium cyanide (or iminodiacetic acid), then neutralised with sodium hydroxide. No natural-feedstock route exists.

In plain English

Trisodium nitrilotriacetate is a chelating ingredient that binds trace metals to stabilise a formula. Its backbone is built from synthetic petrochemical building blocks, with sodium added to neutralise it.

Structure

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

PubChem CID 21152 ↗

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.
2Trisodium Nitrilotriacetate. PubChem CID 21152. National Center for Biotechnology Information. pubchem.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov ↗
3TRISODIUM NITRILOTRIACETATE. CosIng — European Commission cosmetic ingredient database. ec.europa.eu/cosing ↗
4Trisodium nitrilotriacetate. CosIng u2014 European Commission database for information on cosmetic substances and ingredients. https://ec.europa.eu/growth/tools-databases/cosing/search?search=Trisodium%20nitrilotriacetate