PEG-18 Palm Glycerides is the product obtained by the ethoxylation of palm oil (Elaeis guineensis) glycerides with an average of 18 moles of ethylene oxide. This ethoxylated compound is widely used in the cosmetic, pharmaceutical, and food industries for its emulsifying, solubilizing, and surfactant properties.

Chemical Composition and Structure

PEG-18 Palm Glycerides is composed of glycerides derived from palm oil that have been ethoxylated with ethylene oxide. This process attaches polyoxyethylene chains to the glycerides, enhancing their solubility and emulsifying capabilities.

Physical Properties

PEG-18 Palm Glycerides typically appears as a clear to slightly opaque liquid or semi-solid, depending on the specific composition and processing methods used. It has a mild, neutral aroma and is soluble in water, oils, and organic solvents due to the presence of polyoxyethylene chains.

Production Process

Harvesting and Selection: The fruits of the oil palm (Elaeis guineensis) are harvested and carefully selected to ensure the quality of the palm oil.
Oil Extraction: The oil is extracted from the mesocarp of the fruit through mechanical pressing or solvent extraction.
Glyceride Formation: The palm oil is processed to form glycerides, which are the esterified form of glycerol and fatty acids.
Ethoxylation: The glycerides are reacted with ethylene oxide in the presence of a catalyst. This ethoxylation process introduces polyoxyethylene chains, with an average of 18 moles of ethylene oxide per mole of glyceride.
Purification: The resulting PEG-18 Palm Glycerides are purified to remove any unreacted materials and by-products, ensuring a high-quality final product.
Quality Control: Rigorous quality tests are conducted to evaluate the purity, stability, and composition of the PEG-18 Palm Glycerides, including chemical and microbiological analyses.

Applications

Cosmetic Products: Used in creams, lotions, shampoos, and body washes for its emulsifying and solubilizing properties, helping to blend water and oil phases and enhancing the texture and stability of products.
Skin Care: Ideal for products aimed at providing moisturizing and cleansing benefits due to its ability to solubilize oils and enhance the spreadability of formulations.
Hair Care: Incorporated into shampoos, conditioners, and hair treatments for its ability to cleanse and condition hair, providing smoothness and manageability.
Food Industry: Used as an emulsifier and stabilizer in various food products, helping to blend ingredients and improve texture.
Pharmaceutical Products: Utilized in various formulations for its solubilizing and emulsifying properties, enhancing the delivery and stability of active ingredients.

Environmental and Safety Considerations

The production of palm oil has been associated with deforestation, habitat destruction, and biodiversity loss. Efforts to source palm oil from sustainable and certified sources (such as RSPO-certified palm oil) are crucial to mitigate these impacts.

Cosmetic Safety

PEG (Polyethylene glycol) polymerize condensed ethylene oxide and water and are referred to as polyethylene glycols, but they are actually complex chemical components, polymers bonded together. For example, plastic is polyethylene and has a hard consistency, while polyethylene aggregated with glycol forms a liquid. PEGylation is produced not only as heterification but also as transesterification, which is the transformation of an alcohol by an ester.
The number that appears after the abbreviation PEG represents the molecular weight, and the higher this number is, the less it penetrates the skin.
The term 'eth' refers to the ethoxylation reaction with ethylene oxide after which residues of ethylene oxide and 1,4-dioxane, chemical compounds considered carcinogenic, may remain. The degree of safety therefore depends on the degree of purity of the compound obtained. No manufacturer appears to provide this information on the label, at least as of the date of this review.
Kim MC, Park SY, Kwon SY, Kim YK, Kim YI, Seo YS, Cho SM, Shin EC, Mok JH, Lee YB. Application of Static Headspace GC-MS Method for Selective 1,4-Dioxane Detection in Food Additives. Foods. 2023 Sep 2;12(17):3299. doi: 10.3390/foods12173299.
Abstract. "Efficient detection methods must be developed for 1,4-dioxane due to its suspected status as a human carcinogen, which is highly mobile in food and environmental resources. In this regard, this experiment has been conducted to develop reliable and selective detection and measurement methods by using static headspace (SH) isolation, followed by gas chromatography-mass spectrometry (GC-MS). A new method was developed for determining the spiked 1,4-dioxane contents in a polyethylene glycol 600 (PEG 600). The optimal condition for SH-GC-MS was discussed. The representative ions of 1,4-dioxane and 1,4-dioxane-d8 in the SIM mode of MS are 88 and 96, respectively, and the peaks of the SIM mode were separated and confirmed. The linear range for the method covers 0.25 to 100 mg/L with a coefficient of determination (R2) ≥ 0.999. The method applicability was demonstrated by spike recovery across a variety of food additives (i.e., chlorine bitartrate, choline chloride, polysorbate 20 and 60, and PEG 1000). All spike recovery from the tested samples was in the range of 89.50-102.68% with a precision of 0.44-11.22%. These findings suggest a new analytical method for food safety inspection, and could be applicable for ensuring the safety of foods and environmental and public health on a broad scale."

INCI


Skin conditioning agent - Emollient. Emollients have the characteristic of enhancing the skin barrier through a source of exogenous lipids that adhere to the skin, improving barrier properties by filling gaps in intercorneocyte clusters to improve hydration while protecting against inflammation. In practice, they have the ability to create a barrier that prevents transepidermal water loss. Emollients are described as degreasing or refreshing additives that improve the lipid content of the upper layers of the skin by preventing degreasing and drying of the skin. The problem with emollients is that many have a strong lipophilic character and are identified as occlusive ingredients; they are oily and fatty materials that remain on the skin surface and reduce transepidermal water loss. In cosmetics, emollients and moisturisers are often considered synonymous with humectants and occlusives.

Surfactant - Emulsifying agent. Emulsions are thermodynamically unstable and are used to soothe or soften the skin and emulsify, so they need a specific, stabilising ingredient. This ingredient forms a film, lowers the surface tension and makes two immiscible liquids miscible. A very important factor affecting the stability of the emulsion is the amount of the emulsifying agent. Emulsifiers have the property of reducing the oil/water or water/oil interfacial tension, improving the stability of the emulsion and also directly influencing the stability, sensory properties and surface tension of sunscreens by modulating the filmometric performance.
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