Tributyrin

CAS 60-01-5

Listed as a solvent by Canada and the US.

Listed as solvents and vehicles (CA, US) · flavouring agents and adjuvants (US) · carriers (CA)
Chemical structure of Tributyrin, from PubChem compound 6050
Structure from PubChem CID 6050 (National Library of Medicine, public domain). A depiction of one compound: where a listing covers a family, or a substance has no single structure, this page shows none.

Tributyrin is a flavouring, carrier and solvent. It releases butyric acid, the compound behind part of the characteristic flavour of butter.

Where it is and isn’t permitted

Status of Tributyrin by jurisdiction. Every jurisdiction this site covers is listed, including those where the substance does not appear.
JurisdictionStatusScope and limitsCitation
Australia and New ZealandFood Standards Australia New ZealandNo listed food uses foundThis site has not matched this substance to any food use on this jurisdiction’s list of authorised food additives. A food additive may be used only in foods that list names. Flavourings, enzymes, processing aids and added nutrients are regulated separately and do not appear on it.
CanadaHealth CanadaPermitted

no numerical limit (good manufacturing practice)

2 permitted uses

Show every permitted use
  • In: (Naming the flavour) flavour. Purpose: Carrier solvent. Limit: Good Manufacturing Practice. — Health Canada, List of Permitted Solvents (List 15), item G.4(a)
  • In: Unstandardized flavouring preparations. Purpose: Carrier solvent. Limit: Good Manufacturing Practice. — Health Canada, List of Permitted Solvents (List 15), item G.4(b)
Health Canada, List of Permitted Solvents (List 15)and 1 further provisionretrieved 2026-10-17
European UnionEuropean Commission / EFSANo listed food uses foundThis site has not matched this substance to any food use on this jurisdiction’s list of authorised food additives. A food additive may be used only in foods that list names. Flavourings, enzymes, processing aids and added nutrients are regulated separately and do not appear on it.
Great BritainFood Standards Agency / Food Standards ScotlandNo listed food uses foundThis site has not matched this substance to any food use on this jurisdiction’s list of authorised food additives. A food additive may be used only in foods that list names. Flavourings, enzymes, processing aids and added nutrients are regulated separately and do not appear on it.
JapanConsumer Affairs AgencyNo listing matchedThis site imports only Japan’s list of designated additives (Appended Table 1 to the Regulations for Enforcement of the Food Sanitation Act), matched by English name. Existing additives, natural flavouring agents and ordinary foods used as additives are permitted outside that list and are not imported, so an empty row does not show that Japan does not permit the substance.
South KoreaMinistry of Food and Drug SafetyNo listing matchedThis site imports Part III of South Korea’s Standards and Specifications for Food Additives, matched by CAS number, then INS number, then exact name. Mixed preparations and sanitisers are not imported, and an entry whose identifiers disagreed with a page’s is held for review, so an empty row does not show that South Korea does not permit the substance.
United StatesFood and Drug AdministrationPermitted21 CFR 184.1903retrieved 2026-10-17
Codex AlimentariusCodex Alimentarius Commission / JECFANot listedDoes not appear on this jurisdiction’s permitted list. That is not the same as being prohibited.

How much is permitted

A listing usually limits the quantity as well as the food. Only one of the forms that takes is a figure: quantum satis and good manufacturing practice permit the amount the technological effect requires and no more, which is a limit rather than the absence of one. Figures below are the range across every food category this page is listed in, and categories differ between regulators — see how much is permitted.

Canada—2 GMP
United States—1 no quantity stated

No regulator sets a figure for Tributyrin. That is not an absence of control: where the listing says quantum satis or good manufacturing practice, the quantity is limited to what the effect requires.

What it is made from

Made by reacting glycerol with butyric acid. It occurs naturally in butter.

  • Vegan status depends on the source
  • Vegetarian status depends on the source
  • May raise a halal question
  • May raise a kosher question

This is not an omission. What this additive is made from is not fixed — depending on the manufacturer it may be plant, animal or microbial in origin, nobody is required to say which, and the same product can change source between production runs. Ask the manufacturer if it matters to you; a label cannot answer it.

Compare other additives on the dietary indexes.

CAS registry number
60-01-5
InChIKey
UYXTWWCETRIEDR-UHFFFAOYSA-N
PubChem
CID 6050

Every name it appears under

49 recorded names. A label may use any of them.

CAS registry number

  • 60-01-5

As it appears in regulation

  • Tributyrin

Other names

  • 1,2,3-Propanetriol, tributyrate
  • 1,2,3-Propanetriyl tributanoate
  • 1,2,3-tributanoylglycerol
  • 1,2,3-Tributyrylglycerol
  • 1,3-bis(butanoyloxy)propan-2-yl butanoate
  • 1,3-Tributyrylglycerol
  • 2,3-Bis(butyryloxy)propyl butyrate
  • 2,3-Bis(butyryloxy)propyl butyrate #
  • 2,3-di(butanoyloxy)propyl butanoate
  • 4-02-00-00799 (Beilstein Handbook Reference)
  • BRN 1714746
  • Butanoic acid, 1,2,3-propanetriyl ester
  • Butyric acid triester with glycerin
  • Butyrin
  • Butyrin, tri-
  • Butyryl triglyceride
  • CAS-60-01-5
  • FEMA 2223
  • FEMA No. 2223
  • Glycerin tributyrate
  • Glycerol tributanoate
  • Glycerol tributyrate
  • Glyceroltributyrin
  • Glycery tributyrate
  • GLYCERYL TRI-BUTYRATE
  • Glyceryl tributyrate
  • Glyceryl tributyrate, >=99%
  • Glyceryl tributyrate, analytical standard
  • Glyceryl tributyrate, puriss., >=98.5% (GC)
  • Glyceryl tributyrate, technical, >=94.0% (GC)
  • HSDB 878
  • Kodaflex
  • Kodaflex tripropionin
  • propane-1,2,3-triyl tributanoate
  • Propane-1,2,3-triyl tributyrate
  • tri-butyrin
  • Tri-n-butyrin
  • Tributin
  • TRIBUTYRIN
  • Tributyrin, 97%, FG
  • Tributyrinine
  • Tributyrl glyceride
  • Tributyroin
  • Tributyryl glyceride
  • tributyrylglycerol

Systematic names

  • 2,3-Di(butanoyloxy)propyl butanoate
  • InChI=1/C15H26O6/c1-4-7-13(16)19-10-12(21-15(18)9-6-3)11-20-14(17)8-5-2/h12H,4-11H2,1-3H

Hazard reference values

No reference value for this substance in the sources we hold.

Evidence and how bodies read it

Studies, and the differing conclusions regulators drew from them, are curated rather than machine-read, and none has been written for this substance yet.

Common questions

Assembled from what is above, in the words the questions are usually asked in. Each answer is the same statement the relevant section makes, with the same citations behind it.

What is Tributyrin?
Tributyrin is a flavouring, carrier and solvent. It releases butyric acid, the compound behind part of the characteristic flavour of butter.
What is Tributyrin used for in food?
It is listed as a solvent — the role Canada and the US assign it. This page shows every function each regulator records, with the citation for each.
Is Tributyrin banned in Europe?
No. Tributyrin does not appear on the EU's list of authorised food additives, which is not the same as being banned: the EU permits an additive only where it has authorised it, and usually the reason for an absence is that no one applied. The EU has made no finding against this substance. It does mean it may not be used as a food additive in the EU today.
Where is Tributyrin permitted?
Of the seven regulators this site reads, Canada and the US permit it. Each permission is for named foods at named levels, not a blanket one; the table on this page gives them with citations.
Is Tributyrin vegan?
It depends on the source, and a label will not tell you. Tributyrin can be made from plant or animal material, manufacturers are not obliged to say which, and the same product can change between production runs. Anyone who needs to know has to ask the manufacturer.

Sources for this page

  • ca retrieved 2026-10-17
  • ecfr retrieved 2026-10-17

Full licence terms and publisher details on Sources. How this page is built and updated: Method.

Machine-readable: a JSON record of this additive is given on request —how to ask for access.

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