Re: monolaurin as an antimicrobial

[Guest guest]

>Any thoughts from the chemists in this group?

The INCI name for Monolaurin is Glyceryl te. Glyceryl te is the

monoester of glycerin and lauric acid.

Other technical names are

Dodecanoic Acid, 2,3-Dihydroxypropyl Ester

Dodecanoic Acid, Monoester with 1,2,3-Propanetriol

Glycerin 1-Monolaurate

Glycerol 1-te

Glyceryl Monolaurate

Lauric Acid 1-Monoglyceride

1-Monododecanoylglycerol

1-Monolaurin

Glyceryl te is sold under the following trade names:

AEC Glyceryl te (A & E Connock)

Cithrol GML N/E (Croda Oleochemicals)

CPH-34-N (Hall)

ESTOL 3614 (Uniqema/Netherlands)

Imwitor 312 (Condea Chemie/Condea Vista)

Jeechem MLD (Jeen)

Lauricidin (Med-Chem)

Monomuls 90 L-12 (Cognis Care Chemicals/NJ)

Monomuls 90 L-12 (Cognis Care Chemicals/PA)

Monomuls 90 L-12 (Cognis GmbH)

Protachem MLD (Protameen)

Rylo MG 12 (Danisco)

STEPAN GML (Stepan)

Sunsoft 750 (Taiyo Kagaku)

Sympatens-GML (Kolb)

Tegin L-90 (Goldschmidt)

Ultrapure GML (Ultra Chemical)

According to the CTFA Dictionary, Glyceryl te functions as a

" Skin-Conditioning Agent - Emollient " and as a " Surfactant -

Emulsifying Agent " . No mention is made about it being a preservative.

Glyceryl te may have antimicrobial activity against some microorganisms.

Alone it is not an effective preservative. I can see

Glyceryl te being used in conjuction with other preservatives but not

alone.

If Glyceryl te were an effective preservative for cosmetics, I'm sure we

would see it listed in more ingredient lists. I first heard

about Glyceryl te being a preservative many years ago. As I recall, a

friend of mine tried it in a lotion formula and it failed the

challenge test.

Here's another good link:

http://lauricidin.com/technical.htm

Maurice

------------------------

Maurice O. Hevey

Convergent Cosmetics, Inc.

http://www.ConvergentCosmetics.com