What does Arachidonic acid do?

Used in cosmetics as an emollient and a skin-conditioning agent.

Is Arachidonic acid safe?

We haven't assessed a concern score for this ingredient yet. It is listed for cosmetic use in the EU.

beauty
food
pharma

Arachidonic acid

CAS 93444-49-6

Also registered as 5 other CAS numbers

929-92-0 · 10417-93-3 · 405115-24-4 · 1262978-13-1 · 506-32-1

Concern score

Not assessed — no hazard data yet.

Arachidonic acid in plain language

What it is: Also known as (5Z,8Z,11Z,14Z)-Icosa-5,8,11,14-tetraenoic acid · Ara · Arachidonate · (5Z,8Z,11Z,14Z)-5,8,11,14-EICOSATETRAENOIC acid · (5Z,8Z,11Z,14Z)-Icosatetraenoic acid · (all-Z)-5,8,11,14-Eicosatetraenoic acid
Show all 22 names
5,8,11,14-Eicosatetraenoic acid, (5Z,8Z,11Z,14Z)- · 5,8,11,14-Eicosatetraenoic acid, (all-Z)- · 5,8,11,14-all-cis-Eicosatetraenoic acid · 5-cis,8-cis,11-cis,14-cis-Eicosatetraenoic acid · 5Z,8Z,11Z,14Z-Eicosatetraenoic acid · All-cis-icosa-5,8,11,14-tetraenoic acid · Sodium Arachidonate · Arachidonic Acid, >97% · C20:4 · Fatty Acid 20:4 n-6 · Icosa-5,8,11,14-tetraenoic acid · Immunocytophyte · acide icosa-5,8,11,14-tetraenoique · acido icosa-5,8,11,14-tetraenoico · all-cis-5,8,11,14-eicosatetraenoic acid · cis-5,8,11,14-Eicosatetraenoic acid
What it does: Used in cosmetics as an emollient and a skin-conditioning agent.
Emollient
Skin conditioning
Conditioner
Is it a concern?: We haven't assessed a concern score for this ingredient yet. It is listed for cosmetic use in the EU.

Regulation

No restrictions found. Arachidonic acid appears in these published regulatory listings.

Recorded in these product areas

Found in consumer products
Pharma
Food

EUCosIngActiveListed in CosIng inventory for cosmetic use.
- Listed in CosIng inventory for cosmetic use.Source →
USEPAcommercial use observedEPA CPDat observed this chemical in 1 composition records across product categories including Food and drug. EPA CPDat classifies this chemical for functional uses including Softener and conditioner.
- EPA CPDat observed this chemical in 1 composition records across product categories including Food and drug. EPA CPDat classifies this chemical for functional uses including Softener and conditioner.Source →
USFDAlisted in openFDA substanceopenFDA substance registry classifies this ingredient as chemical.
- openFDA substance registry classifies this ingredient as chemical.Source →

Expert safety opinions

No expert opinion on file for Arachidonic acid. These are the independent scientific bodies that assess ingredients like this one; we show an opinion only when a record we hold cites it.

SCCS
EU Scientific Committee on Consumer Safety
No SCCS opinion on file.
CIR
Cosmetic Ingredient Review (US expert panel)
No CIR safety assessment on file.

Evidence & sources

No graded research studies for Arachidonic acid yet. This record is compiled from the published data sources below — registries and regulatory listings, not study findings.

6 data sources

Where this comes from

CosIng
regulatory · updated 2026-09-23
Open →
EPA Chemical and Products Database
exposure · updated 2020-08-31
Open →
EPA DSSTox Identifiers
chemistry · updated 2025-12-29
Open →
FDA GSRS UNII
registry · updated 2026-02-26
Open →
openFDA Substance
registry · updated 2026-05-24
Open →
PubChem Live Enrichment
chemistry · updated 2026-05-17
Open →

Reference links (1)

Openfda substance

en.wikipedia.org

Read →

Suitability

Context-specific fit derived from published classifications and the current ingredient evidence profile.

Food use

Nothing to weigh for this context yet.

No signal in this context

We have no published hazard signal for this ingredient, so we cannot say how it behaves in this context — that is missing evidence, not a clean result.

Fragrance avoidance

Nothing to weigh for this context yet.

No signal in this context

We have no published hazard signal for this ingredient, so we cannot say how it behaves in this context — that is missing evidence, not a clean result.

Where it has been recorded

How often EPA CPDat has listed Arachidonic acid in a product composition. These are source records, not Greenveil catalog products.

Source records

Named organisations

Food and drug

Typical roles

EmollientSkin conditioningConditioner

See products using Arachidonic acid →

Catalog

Found in these products

Their ingredient lists include Arachidonic acid; each product's own rating depends on its whole formula, so it is shown on the product page, not here.

See all 12 →Find products without it →