Aluminum Starch Octenylsuccinate is obtained by the reaction of octenylsuccinic anhydride with starch and is the aluminium salt of the product of this reaction.

The name describes the structure of the molecule:

• Aluminum Starch refers to starch, a complex carbohydrate, which has been modified with aluminum ions. Aluminum-modified starch is used for its absorbing properties and texture enhancement.
• Octenylsuccinate indicates that the starch has been treated with octenylsuccinic acid. This treatment gives the compound unique properties, such as increased water resistance and better adherence to the skin.

Raw Materials and Their Functions

Starch. A natural polysaccharide used as the base for the production of aluminum starch octenylsuccinate. It provides the basic structure of the compound.

Octenylsuccinic Acid. A derivative of succinic acid used to chemically modify starch, enhancing its properties and compatibility with other ingredients.

Aluminum. Used to further stabilize the modified structure of starch.

Industrial Chemical Synthesis of Aluminum Starch Octenylsuccinate

• Starch Modification with the reaction of starch with octenylsuccinic acid. During this reaction, starch is chemically modified to form aluminum starch octenylsuccinate.
• Addition of Aluminum. After modifying the starch, aluminum is added to further stabilize the compound.
• Reaction Control. The starch modification reaction and the addition of aluminum are monitored to ensure the final product has the desired properties.
• Purification. The compound is purified to remove impurities and by-products.
• Quality Control. The purified aluminum starch octenylsuccinate undergoes quality checks to ensure it meets the required standards. After quality control, it is packaged for use in cosmetic and personal care products, where it utilizes its oil-absorbing properties and as an opacifying agent.

It appears as a white powder or white granules.

What it is used for and where

Cosmetics

Absorbent. Absorbs substances dispersed or dissolved in aqueous solutions, water/oil, oil/water.

Anticaking agent. This chemical compound facilitates free flow and prevents aggregation or clumping of substances in a formulation by reducing the tendency of certain particles to stick together.

Viscosity control agent. It controls and adapts viscosity to the required level for optimal chemical and physical stability of the product and dosage in gels, suspensions, emulsions, solutions. 

It is normally included in creams in a percentage not exceeding 30 percent.

Food

It is also used in the food industry as a modified food starch and is subject to certain restrictions with regard to heavy metal residues.

In the list of European food additives, aluminium starch octenyl succinate has the number E1452 as a thickener.

Safety

The EFSA Panel on Food Additives and Nutrient Sources Added to Food considers that there is no safety concern for the use of modified starches as food additives at the uses and use levels declared for the general population and that a numerical ADI is not necessary (1).

In the minute quantities in which it is included in food or cosmetics, it is not a cause for concern. However, aluminium is a possible endocrine disruptor, so monitor any cumulative intake.

Aluminium can interfere with different biological processes (cellular oxidative stress, calcium metabolism, etc.), so it can induce toxic effects in different organs and systems, and the nervous system is the main target of its toxicity. (2).

• Molecular Formula  
• Molecular Weight   
• CAS  9087-61-0
• UNII    
• EC Number   618-671-9

References________________________________________________________________________

(1) EFSA Panel on Food Additives and Nutrient Sources added to Food (ANS), Mortensen, A., Aguilar, F., Crebelli, R., Di Domenico, A., Dusemund, B., Frutos, M.J., Galtier, P., Gott, D., Gundert‐Remy, U. and Lambré, C., 2017. Re‐evaluation of oxidised starch (E 1404), monostarch phosphate (E 1410), distarch phosphate (E 1412), phosphated distarch phosphate (E 1413), acetylated distarch phosphate (E 1414), acetylated starch (E 1420), acetylated distarch adipate (E 1422), hydroxypropyl starch (E 1440), hydroxypropyl distarch phosphate (E 1442), starch sodium octenyl succinate (E 1450), acetylated oxidised starch (E 1451) and starch aluminium octenyl succinate (E 1452) as food additives. EFSA Journal, 15(10), p.e04911.

Abstract. Following a request from the European Commission, the EFSA Panel on Food Additives and Nutrient sources added to Food (ANS) was asked to deliver a scientific opinion on the re-evaluation of 12 modified starches (E 1404, E 1410, E 1412, E 1413, E 1414, E 1420, E 1422, E 1440, E 1442, E 1450, E 1451 and E 1452) authorised as food additives in the EU in accordance with Regulation (EC) No 1333/2008 and previously evaluated by JECFA and the SCF. Both committees allocated an acceptable daily intake (ADI) ‘not specified’. In humans, modified starches are not absorbed intact but significantly hydrolysed by intestinal enzymes and then fermented by the intestinal microbiota. Using the read-across approach, the Panel considered that adequate data on short- and long-term toxicity and carcinogenicity, and reproductive toxicity are available. Based on in silico analyses, modified starches are considered not to be of genotoxic concern. No treatment-related effects relevant for human risk assessment were observed in rats fed very high levels of modified starches (up to 31,000 mg/kg body weight (bw) per day). Modified starches (e.g. E 1450) were well tolerated in humans up to a single dose of 25,000 mg/person. Following the conceptual framework for the risk assessment of certain food additives, the Panel concluded that there is no safety concern for the use of modified starches as food additives at the reported uses and use levels for the general population and that there is no need for a numerical ADI. The combined exposure to E 1404–E 1451 at the 95th percentile of the refined (brand-loyal) exposure assessment scenario for the general population was up to 3,053 mg/kg bw per day. Exposure to E 1452 for food supplement consumers only at the 95th percentile was up to 22.1 mg/kg bw per day.

Safety assessment of starch-based personal care products: Nanocapsules and pickering emulsions.  Marto J, Pinto P, Fitas M, Gonçalves LM, Almeida AJ, Ribeiro HM.  Toxicol Appl Pharmacol. 2018 Mar 1;342:14-21. doi: 10.1016/j.taap.2018.01.018.

Final report on the safety assessment of aluminum starch octenylsuccinate.  Nair B, Yamarik TA; Cosmetic Ingredient Review Expert panel.  Int J Toxicol. 2002;21 Suppl 1:1-7. Review.

(2) Tietz, T., Lenzner, A., Kolbaum, A.E. et al. Aggregated aluminium exposure: risk assessment for the general population. Arch Toxicol 93, 3503–3521 (2019). https://doi.org/10.1007/s00204-019-02599-z

 Abstract. Aluminium is one of the most abundant elements in earth’s crust and its manifold uses result in an exposure of the population from many sources. Developmental toxicity, effects on the urinary tract and neurotoxicity are known effects of aluminium and its compounds. Here, we assessed the health risks resulting from total consumer exposure towards aluminium and various aluminium compounds, including contributions from foodstuffs, food additives, food contact materials (FCM), and cosmetic products. For the estimation of aluminium contents in foodstuff, data from the German “Pilot-Total-Diet-Study” were used, which was conducted as part of the European TDS-Exposure project. These were combined with consumption data from the German National Consumption Survey II to yield aluminium exposure via food for adults. It was found that the average weekly aluminium exposure resulting from food intake amounts to approx. 50% of the tolerable weekly intake (TWI) of 1 mg/kg body weight (bw)/week, derived by the European Food Safety Authority (EFSA). For children, data from the French “Infant Total Diet Study” and the “Second French Total Diet Study” were used to estimate aluminium exposure via food. As a result, the TWI can be exhausted or slightly exceeded—particularly for infants who are not exclusively breastfed and young children relying on specially adapted diets (e.g. soy-based, lactose free, hypoallergenic). When taking into account the overall aluminium exposure from foods, cosmetic products (cosmetics), pharmaceuticals and FCM from uncoated aluminium, a significant exceedance of the EFSA-derived TWI and even the PTWI of 2 mg/kg bw/week, derived by the Joint FAO/WHO Expert Committee on Food Additives, may occur. Specifically, high exposure levels were found for adolescents aged 11–14 years. Although exposure data were collected with special regard to the German population, it is also representative for European and comparable to international consumers. From a toxicological point of view, regular exceedance of the lifetime tolerable aluminium intake (TWI/PTWI) is undesirable, since this results in an increased risk for health impairments. Consequently, recommendations on how to reduce overall aluminium exposure are given.

Wong, W.W., Chung, S.W., Kwong, K.P., Yin Ho, Y. and Xiao, Y., 2010. Dietary exposure to aluminium of the Hong Kong population. Food Additives and Contaminants, 27(4), pp.457-463.

Bratakos, S.M., Lazou, A.E., Bratakos, M.S. and Lazos, E.S., 2012. Aluminium in food and daily dietary intake estimate in Greece. Food Additives and Contaminants: Part B, 5(1), pp.33-44.