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Cosmetic Ingredient Archive: Carrageenan

Carrageenan


1. INCI name

Carrageenan

2. Molecular formula

N/A

3. CAS number

9000-07-01

4. EC Number

232-524-2

5. EWG grade

  • Score: 1
  • Data availability: Good (The data is reliable)

6. Origin

Eucheuma spinosum


7. Function

  • Fragrance
  • Hair conditioning agent
  • Viscosity increasing agent

8. Regulatory status(countries)

N/A

9. Property

  • Boiling Point: N/A
  • Melting Point: 50 to 70℃  
  • Molar mass: 788.656 g/mol
  • Density: N/APhysical Appearance: White powder

10. Remark

Basic knowledge of Carrageenan

  • Natural polysaccharides derived from red algae that live mainly along rocks off the Atlantic coast
  • Food additives that are often used in ice cream and beverages
  • the primary role is increasing viscosity
  • It became known 600 years ago when the residents of the southern Irish coastal town of Karaginan used red seaweed as a raw material for producing Carrageenan. It was named after the village.

How Carrageenan Is Made

  • The collected red algae are extracted from hot water or an alkaline solution and then refined.
  • It dissolves entirely at 80 to 85 degrees and becomes gel at 50 to 55 degrees when cooled.
  • And this gel doesn't change its viscosity over time.

Is Carrageenan a carcinogen?

  • Carrageenan gets absorbed well in the intestine, but no metabolic process occurs in cells.
  • Therefore, the undissolved Carrageenan begins to accumulate in cells, at which time the self-collapse mechanism of Carrageenan occurs.
  • There are reports that repeating this can cause ulcers in the digestive system and develop into cancer.
  • So there was once a controversy in the United States and Japan that it is a carcinogen.
  • However, in 2001, the Joint FAO/WHO Expert Committee on Food Additives(JECFA) verified the safety of Carrageenan
  • In 2013, the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) treated Carrageenan as a safe food additive.
  • The International Agency for Research on Cancer (IARC) classified Carrageenan as "Group 3" rather than a human carcinogen.
    • Group3 is an "unclassified substance on the carcinogenicity of the human body, " which means that it is unreliable because of insufficient human research data and animal testing results.
  • However, it is not recommended for infants and toddlers with slow bowel activity

What are the effects of Carrageenan?

  • Anti-oxidizing to prevent skin aging
  • Preventing the skin from getting dry
  • Helps soothe sensitive skin
  • It acts as a thickener (boosting viscosity)

Source

- https://www.ewg.org/skindeep/

Location: South Korea

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