Polyamino Sugar Condensate

What Is It?

Polyamino Sugar Condensate is a semisolid, sugar-amino acid ingredient. In cosmetics and personal-care products, it is used primarily in makeup and skin-care formulations.

Why Is It Used?

Polyamino Sugar Condensate functions as a skin conditioning agent – humectant.

Scientific Facts

Polyamino Sugar Condensate is the product of a condensation reaction between amino acids and sugars. This reaction occurs during the cooking of food.

Safety Information

The safety of Polyamino Sugar Condensate has been assessed by the Cosmetic Ingredient Review (CIR) Expert Panel. The CIR Expert Panel reviewed the scientific data and concluded Polyamino Sugar Condensate is safe for in cosmetics and personal care products.

In 2002, as part of the scheduled review of ingredients, the CIR Expert Panel considered available new data on this ingredient and reaffirmed the above conclusion.

CIR Safety Review: The CIR Expert Panel recognized that many nutritional and toxicological studies have dealt with similar products to Polyamino Sugar Condensate. Polyamino Sugar Condensate had a very low acute oral toxicity. Undiluted Polyamino Sugar Condensate was not found to be a primary irritant and produced only mild irritation. Subacute skin irritation was not observed when Polyamino Sugar Condensate (undiluted) was applied.

Human safety data indicated that Polyamino Sugar Condensate was nonsensitizing and at worst, a mild irritant. Polyamino Sugar Condensate was also nonphototoxic. Polyamino Sugar Condensate may be used in cosmetics and personal care products marketed in Europe according to the general provisions of the Cosmetics Regulation of the European Union. Ingredients of animal origin must comply with European Union animal by-products regulations.

Link to the EU Cosmetic Regulation: 
http://europa.eu/legislation_summaries/consumers/product_labelling_and_p…

More Scientific Information

The condensation reaction between amino acids and sugars used to produce Polyamino Sugar Condensate is the product of a reaction called the Maillard reaction. The Maillard reaction is a chemical reaction between an amino acid and a reducing sugar, usually requiring the addition of heat. It is a form of non-enzymatic browning in which the sugar interacts with the amino acid.

This reaction is the basis of the flavoring industry, since the type of amino acid determines the resulting flavor. Although used since ancient times, the reaction is named after the chemist Louis-Camille Maillard, who investigated it in the early 1900s.