Database/Antimicrobial/Zinc Acetate
Mostly petroleum · ISO 16128

Is Zinc Acetate natural?

Mostly not. Zinc is a natural mineral counter-ion; acetate is not on the automatic-natural anion list and is dominantly petrochemical.

INCI nameZinc Acetate
CAS557-34-6
FormulaC4H6O4Zn · 183.5 Da
FunctionAntimicrobial · Astringent
FeedstockZinc oxide or metal reacted with acetic acid,…

How we scored it

Zn (mineral cation, natural) 65.4 Da; acetate C4H6O4 118.1 Da treated as petrochemical (acetyl-type fragment, methanol carbonylation); 65.4/183.5=0.36
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

Zinc oxide or metal reacted with acetic acid, which is manufactured almost entirely from petrochemical methanol via carbonylation. A minor fermentation route to acetic acid exists but is not used at this industrial scale.

In plain English

A zinc salt of acetic acid used in mouthwashes and deodorants for its antimicrobial and astringent effect. The zinc comes from mined ore; the acetate portion is petrochemical-derived.

CosIng definition: Zinc Acetate is the zinc salt of acetic acid that conforms to the formula:

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Structure

2D structure of Zinc Acetate

zinc diacetate

PubChem CID 11192 ↗

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. 2Zinc Acetate. PubChem CID 11192. National Center for Biotechnology Information. pubchem.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov ↗
  3. 3ZINC ACETATE. CosIng — European Commission cosmetic ingredient database. ec.europa.eu/cosing ↗
  4. 4ZINC ACETATE. CosIng u2014 European Commission database for information on cosmetic substances and ingredients. https://ec.europa.eu/growth/tools-databases/cosing/search?search=ZINC%20ACETATE