NATURALS 83
Understanding botanical oils for cosmetics
Dr Victoria Donat – Textron, Spain
Ancestral use of botanicals supports veracity of qualities preached about them for care of physical wellness, both internally and externally. All ancient civilisations inhabiting our planet have provided us with countless examples and knowledge about use of fruits, seeds, flowers, whole plants or different extracts of them; either as medicinal remedies, culinary ingredients or for enhancement of external appearance. At the same time, the most recent scientific investigations identify active substances responsible for their traditionally known properties, while they reveal and prove new bioactivities.
Genetic variability of flora on Earth generates a huge phytochemical diversity from which we can profit from the nutritional, sanitary and cosmetic points of view. Vegetable oils are greasy extracts from botanical origin, obtained from oleaginous seeds or fruits, and they constitute a valuable type of raw material for the cosmetic industry; not merely as emollients in a formulation, but also with a therapeutic role in many cases. Diversity of origins of vegetable oils is extremely wide, as they may come from
February 2020
Abstract
Plants offer us plenty of beneficial substances for health and beauty, as supported by its ancient use. Scientific research allows identification of the active substances present in plants, proving their properties, and discovering new bioactivities. This article gives insight into the botanical origins of vegetable oils and explains their composition. Quality criteria are described, and the different categories of vegetable oils are explained. Essential oils, although also from botanical origin, are not considered true vegetable oils. However, they are regarded as very special ingredients of cosmetic products, as highlighted in the present article. We finally summarise the advantages of all kind of vegetable oils in cosmetic formulations, and their cosmetic benefits that make them the choice for natural and sustainable cosmetics.
virtually any plant ecosystem on our planet, and from all climate zones, from tropical to desert. Edaphic factors and climatic particularities of terrestrial geographical regions have forced and directed evolution for adaption of plants to extreme conditions, giving as a result a metabolic diversity with a vast biological potential, still not completely explored.
Composition
A vegetable oil is mainly composed of triglycerides (esters of fatty acids and glycerol). The so-called fatty acid profile is
the characteristic composition of an oil, measured as the percentage content of each type of fatty acid, constituting a footprint of the identity of a given oil. Knowing the relative distribution of these compounds is interesting to evaluate not only quality and identity of vegetable oils, but also their potential cosmetic benefits derived from the diversity and abundance of the different fatty acids and their action on skin. Vegetable oils are also composed of a non-glyceridic, unsaponifiable minor fraction (between 1%-5%). Basically, this
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