What is it?
Guar gum that has been broken down into shorter pieces. Guar gum is a natural thickener ground from the seeds of the guar plant, a legume. Treating it with acid, enzymes or another hydrolysis method cuts its long sugar chains into shorter, lower-molecular-weight fragments. In cosmetics it is listed as a viscosity-controlling ingredient and has been reported in hair and skin care products.
Key information
- The CIR Expert Panel concluded in 2012 that hydrolyzed guar and related guar-based ingredients are safe as used in cosmetics.
- It is made by breaking guar gum into shorter sugar chains with acid, enzymes or other hydrolysis methods.
- In rat feeding studies, partially hydrolyzed guar at up to 5 percent of the diet for 13 weeks caused no treatment-related effects.
- EFSA found in 2017 that guar gum used as a food additive (E 412) raises no safety concern for the general population.
More information
Guar gum is a galactomannan, a long chain of the sugars mannose and galactose stored in the seeds of the guar plant. Hydrolyzed guar is produced by breaking that chain at its linkages, using acid, enzymes or another method, into shorter, lower-molecular-weight fragments called oligosaccharides. No other chemical groups are added.
The Cosmetic Ingredient Review (CIR) Expert Panel assessed hydrolyzed guar with 15 other galactomannans and concluded in 2012 that they are safe as used. In the industry survey it cited, hydrolyzed guar was used at 0.03 to 3 percent. Partially hydrolyzed guar was not mutagenic in bacterial tests, and rats fed up to 5 percent of it in their diet for 13 weeks showed no treatment-related changes in blood, urine, organs or tissues.
Because guar is a crop, the Panel asked manufacturers to keep pesticide residues and heavy metals low. It cited a 2007 case in which some guar gum from India was found to be heavily contaminated with dioxins and pentachlorophenol, which led the European Commission to require testing and certification of guar gum imported from India for food and feed. The Panel also judged that allergy to guar dust in workers, likely caused by plant protein and heavy workplace exposure, is not relevant to cosmetics.
As a food additive, guar gum (E 412) was re-evaluated by the European Food Safety Authority in 2017, which found no need for a numerical daily limit and no safety concern for the general population. On labels, hydrolyzed guar is distinct from chemically modified guars such as hydroxypropyl guar and guar hydroxypropyltrimonium chloride.
Sources: Cosmetic Ingredient Review: Final report on the safety assessment of galactomannans as used in cosmetics (2012); EFSA Journal (2017): Re-evaluation of guar gum (E 412) as a food additive
