Eucerit is a chemical substance of natural origin (from sheep wool), and a main ingredient of the popular cosmetic cream Nivea

Nivea

Nivea is a global skin- and body-care brand that is owned by the German company Beiersdorf. The company was founded on March 28 1882 by pharmacist Carl Paul Beiersdorf. In 1900, the new owner Oskar Troplowitz developed a water-in-oil emulsion as a skin cream with Eucerit, the first stable emulsion...

. Nivea, Eucerit and Eucerin are registered trademarks of company Beiersdorf

Beiersdorf

Beiersdorf AG is a multinational corporation based in Hamburg, Germany, manufacturing personal care products. Its brands include Elastoplast, Eucerin , Labello, and Nivea....

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The development of Nivea is attributed to German Silesian

Silesian

Silesian or Upper Silesian is considered either a dialect of the Polish language , or a separate Slavic language of the Lechitic group spoken in the region of Silesia...

  pharmacist and entrepreneur Oscar Troplowitz

Oscar Troplowitz

Oscar Troplowitz was a German pharmacist and entrepreneur who purchased Beiersdorf AG, which was then a laboratory and chemist's shop in Hamburg from Paul Carl Beiersdorf in 1890...

 at the beginning of the 20th century.

Details

Eucerit is highly purified lanolin

Lanolin

Lanolin , also called Adeps Lanae, wool wax or wool grease, is a yellow waxy substance secreted by the sebaceous glands of wool-bearing animals. Most lanolin used by humans comes from domestic sheep...

 alcohol

Alcohol

In chemistry, an alcohol is an organic compound in which the hydroxy functional group is bound to a carbon atom. In particular, this carbon center should be saturated, having single bonds to three other atoms....

 with a high cholesterol

Cholesterol

Cholesterol is a complex isoprenoid. Specifically, it is a waxy steroid of fat that is produced in the liver or intestines. It is used to produce hormones and cell membranes and is transported in the blood plasma of all mammals. It is an essential structural component of mammalian cell membranes...

 content. The especially pure lanolin alcohol Eucerit has a much lower allergy potential than other lanolin alcohols.

Lanolin alcohol is a natural product consisting of a mixture of skin-related lipids extracted from waxes found in sheep's wool. The main component is cholesterol (30%) followed by lanosterol

Lanosterol

Lanosterol is a tetracyclic triterpenoid, which is the compound from which all steroids are derived.-Role in creation of steroids:Elaboration of lanosterol under enzyme catalysis leads to the core structure of steroids. 14-Demethylation of lanosterol by CYP51 eventually yields...

and lanosterol-like compounds (27%). Long-chain, aliphatic C18 to C30 n-alcohols make up the third largest component (approx. 20%).