What does Ethyl levulinate do?

Used in cosmetics as an emollient, a solvent and a fragrance ingredient.

Is Ethyl levulinate safe?

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

beauty
industrial

Ethyl levulinate

CAS 1790637-12-5

Also registered as 1 other CAS number

539-88-8

Concern score

Not assessed — no hazard data yet.

Ethyl levulinate in plain language

What it is: On cosmetic ingredient lists it appears as “Ethyl laevulinate”.
Also known as Ethyl laevulinate · Ethyl 4-oxopentanoate · Levulinate · Ethyl ester levulinic acid · Pentanoic acid, 4-OXO-, ethyl ester · 4-OXOPENTANOIC acid ethyl ester
Show all 14 names
4-oxo-pentanoic acid ethyl ester · Ethyl 3-acetylpropionate · Ethyl 4-ketovalerate · Ethyl 4-oxovalerate · Ethyl acetylpropanoate · Ethyl ketovalerate · Ethyl levulate · ethyllevulinate
What it does: Used in cosmetics as an emollient, a solvent and a fragrance ingredient.
Emollient
Solvent
Perfuming
Fragrance
Flavouring
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. Ethyl levulinate appears in these published regulatory listings.

Recorded in these product areas

Found in consumer products
Industrial

EUCosIngActive2 entries
- Listed in CosIng inventory for cosmetic use.Source →
- Ethyl Levulinate is the organic compound that conforms to the formulaSource →
USEPAcommercial use observedEPA CPDat observed this chemical in 0 composition records across product categories including unclassified products. EPA CPDat classifies this chemical for functional uses including Fragrance, No specific technical function, Flavouring and nutrient.
- EPA CPDat observed this chemical in 0 composition records across product categories including unclassified products. EPA CPDat classifies this chemical for functional uses including Fragrance, No specific technical function, Flavouring and nutrient.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 Ethyl levulinate. 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 Ethyl levulinate 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 March 2000
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 →

Suitability

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

Fragrance avoidance

Not a strong fit for fragrance avoidance because it carries Fragrance.

Avoid

The ingredient itself is a fragrance-linked signal, so it is better treated as an avoid case when fragrance exposure is the main concern.

Where it has been recorded

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

Named organisations

Typical roles

EmollientSolventPerfumingFragranceFlavouring

See products using Ethyl levulinate →