INGREDIENTS ALGAE
multicellular plants have specialised structures to perform different functions that collectively support the organism, microalgae are made up of only one cell that carries out all of the functions needed by the organism, so they are packed with concentrated biochemistry, and, as a source for active ingredients, that makes them even more interesting.”
Then there are the sustainability benefits of ‘blue biotechnology’. Ayats explains that Algaktiv has a cryo- preserved library of microalgae samples from across the globe, comprising just a few drops of water per sample, which can be screened for specific benefits. Then, once selected for a specific activity, the algae are grown in a photobioreactor before the biomass is filtered and then purified. “It takes around five times less water to produce 1kg of biomass of microalgae compared with land plants,” observes Ayats, adding that far less space/land is required to produce microalgae to scale, removing any ethical dilemma surrounding the use of land for crops for cosmetic use over food crops.
SURVIVAL STRATEGIES So, what are the recently launched active cosmetic ingredients making use of algae? And – given algae’s success at thriving across so many different, challenging and changeable environments – what specific species and properties are being tapped by suppliers?
The latest ingredient from Algaktiv is Algaktiv UpLift, a purified fraction of barrier polysaccharides, designed to lift, tighten and firm the face and body, which upcycles previously discarded material from the process used by Algaktiv’s sister company Algalíf to obtain nutritional astaxanthin. The species used by Algalíf (and mass produced in a geothermal energy- powered bioreactor in Iceland) is Haematococcus pluvialis, a species local to Iceland that has learned to cope with unpredictable water supply. “It basically changes its own biochemistry upon stress,” says Ayats. “When there is a lot of water, when conditions are great, life is good for microalgae, so it’s growing, it’s feeding, it’s reproducing and it’s a green microalgae.
22 June 2021
“But then when life starts getting tough for microalgae – and microalgae can get trapped in a puddle where the water keeps evaporating and there is high salinity within the water as the minerals get more and more concentrated, or there is UV light exposure – it changes its own biochemistry. It transforms itself and accumulates astaxanthin, this red antioxidant, on the inside. But it’s not only protecting itself from the inside, it’s also creating this amazing cell wall, which is very thick and robust, so that it can survive pretty much anything. “The microalgae have learned to optimise the composition of the cell wall to create small molecular weight polysaccharides that are very bioactive in terms of engaging with our skin cells,” he explains.
And it is these polysaccharide-rich walls from depleted cells that are brought back to Barcelona from Iceland for upcycling, with the polysaccharides fractions being purified to create UpLift.
The ingredient itself boasts strong data for improving skin firmness (9.4% in 28 days), wrinkles (-28% in 14 days), eye bags (-6.3% in 14 days) and moisture (25.7% in 14 days), and is also suitable for body care, especially for improving the appearance of stretchmarks.
For Algaenia, a soothing active skin care ingredient from Laboratoires
‘
We tend to relate algae with a marine origin. However, algae are also found in other environments
Expanscience, the company looked to one of the least hospitable environments on earth: the lakes around volcano craters. “Algaenia is produced from Chlamydomonas acidophila, a microalgae originally found in extreme conditions – extremely acidic waters in volcano’s crater lakes. As a result, the strain is called acidophila,” Léo Lienard, Product Manager, Nutraceuticals at Laboratoires Expanscience, explains. “Resulting from the enzymatic hydrolysis from this microalgae, the peptides composing Algaenia show interesting soothing and moisturising properties. As a result, we can say that this active is ‘bio-inspired’ from the ecosystem where this microalga comes from. “As it [C. acidophila] thrived where the waters are known to be highly inhospitable (in terms of pH, heavy metals, etc), the resulting peptides help the skin endure the extreme conditions of its environment.” Expanscience partnered with Microphyt – a French biotech firm, based in the country’s sunny south – to source the photobioreactor-grown algae, noting that the company’s close location, as well as the photobioreactor technique used, yielded sustainability benefits, enabling carbon footprint reduction linked to transportation.
Algaenia, on the one hand, “protects sensitive skins from overreacting to chemical stresses by inhibiting the key markers involved in
inflammation” and acting as “a soft cocoon” to protect against daily environmental aggressors, says Lienard.
“On the other side,” he adds, “Algaenia comforts the skin by soothing it, visibly reducing redness even after inflammatory episodes by inhibiting cytokines and rebalancing them.”
FROM MOUNTAIN TO FOREST Another species of microalgae which has adapted to thrive in an extreme environment is Coenochloris signiensis, also known as snow algae, which grows in Alpine or polar climates. This extremophile was the inspiration for Snow Algae Powder, an active skin care ingredient from
cosmeticsbusiness.com
Page 1 |
Page 2 |
Page 3 |
Page 4 |
Page 5 |
Page 6 |
Page 7 |
Page 8 |
Page 9 |
Page 10 |
Page 11 |
Page 12 |
Page 13 |
Page 14 |
Page 15 |
Page 16 |
Page 17 |
Page 18 |
Page 19 |
Page 20 |
Page 21 |
Page 22 |
Page 23 |
Page 24 |
Page 25 |
Page 26 |
Page 27 |
Page 28 |
Page 29 |
Page 30 |
Page 31 |
Page 32 |
Page 33 |
Page 34 |
Page 35 |
Page 36 |
Page 37 |
Page 38 |
Page 39 |
Page 40 |
Page 41 |
Page 42 |
Page 43 |
Page 44 |
Page 45 |
Page 46 |
Page 47 |
Page 48 |
Page 49 |
Page 50 |
Page 51 |
Page 52 |
Page 53 |
Page 54 |
Page 55 |
Page 56 |
Page 57 |
Page 58 |
Page 59 |
Page 60 |
Page 61 |
Page 62 |
Page 63 |
Page 64
