NATURALS 71
Eco-friendly strategy to improve body silhouette
Mariagrazia Barbagallo – Bionap, Italy
Body imperfections are ‘evergreen aesthetic problems’ that affect both women and men of different ages.
If cellulite is a ‘privilege’ almost exclusive to women, given the structure of their subcutaneous adipose tissue,1
sagging skin,
loss of tone or love handles do not make distinctions, involving both genders. Behind these imperfections there are several factors and causes such as inflammation, hormonal imbalances,2
diet,
genetic predispositions, sedentary lifestyle. Counteracting body imperfections is often a challenge for consumers, because it requires an important effort. Therefore, they look for multi-target products able to act as fast as they can. Moreover, most consumers have been applying the principle of sustainability to their lifestyle, including obviously their personal care routine as well. As a consequence, cosmetic manufactures are focusing their efforts to produce ingredients that, among their features, are highly- effective and eco-friendly.
Bionap, since its foundation in 1997, is in line with this growing demand and produces cosmetic ingredients using by- products and co-products of the Mediterranean agro-alimentary industry. In order to counteract cellulite-derived skin
Thermograpic analysis Placebo Citrus bergamia ext.
100 80 60 40 20 0
14 Days 28 Days 56 Days
Figure 2: Percentage of subjects showing an improvement of the thermal homogeneity after have applied the formulation with Citrus bergamia extract and the placebo. Time points: 14 dd, 28 dd and 56 dd.
April 2019 Figure 1: Bergamot fruit.
imperfections and to improve body silhouette, Bionap has developed Flavoslim, a sustainable ingredient obtained from bergamot juice.
Bergamot For centuries bergamot, the common name of the botanical specie Citrus bergamia risso, has been known and appreciated for the essential oil obtained from the peel; the bitter taste of the juice limited the edible use, thus it was considered a by-product. Growers used to define bergamot as
“green gold” not only for the green-yellow colour of the peel, but also because in the past even a small piece of land cultivated with bergamot fed a family. Several legends are told and passed through generations about the mysterious origin of the ‘green gold’ of the Mediterranean.
Among botanists, some consider the plant its own species, others believe it to come from the bitter orange. According to some historians, it seems that bergamot was imported from the Canary Islands by Cristoforo Colombo, others believe from China, Greece or from the Spanish city of Berga. It is also likely the plant is native of Calabria because, since the 11th century, it is reported as a species, limon pusillus calabar, from which bergamot would have had its origin. Bergamot is cultivated, almost
exclusively, in Calabria: in this area 90% of worldwide production is obtained. The juice is rich in flavonoids, whose beneficial effects are widely reported in literature. Bergamot flavonoids are described as
strong antioxidants and anti-inflammatory compounds.3-9
As anti-inflammatories, they act at
different levels. In fact, they inhibit the metabolic route of arachidonic acid that lead to prostaglandins synthesis which are responsible for increased capillary permeability, inducing as a consequence, oedema. Risitano et al. demonstrated that bergamot juice flavonoids inhibit the activation of the nuclear factor-kappa B (NF-kB) which is well-known to play a pivotal role in inflammatory response through the induction of pro-inflammatory cytokines (i.e. TNF-α, IL-6).10 A study conducted by Graziano et al., demonstrated the capability of bergamot flavonoids to remarkably reduce the over- expression of glycosaminoglycans (GAGs) synthesis induced by pro-inflammatory mediators. In fact, while a normal synthesis of GAGs leads to good levels of dermal hydration and turgor, an over-expression of these very hydrophilic molecules cause water retention (oedema), which is linked to tissue hypoxia, cellular changes, and worsening of cellulite’s appearance.11
PERSONAL CARE EUROPE
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