54 NATURALS
Fermented, multi-plant ingredients in cosmetics
Dr James V Gruber - BotanicalsPlus
It has been suggested that the earliest references to mankind’s development of fermentation occurred in the regions around Mesopotamia nearly 4,000 years ago.1
Most
likely, these early fermentations occurred by accident when foods being stored were exposed to microorganisms such as Saccharomyces and Lactobacillus. The human nose is very sensitive to spoilage
so the ferments would have had to have been controlled to not take the foods being fermented to their final unpleasant, odorous spoilage. And, of course, the discovery that the fungus Saccharomyces cerevisiae converts sugars to ethanol brought along a powerful new industry that has been truly refined in modern times.2 It could be argued that the bulk of mankind’s
understanding of fermentation has emerged from investigations into alcohol fermentation. Fermentation has also been applied to various unique food substances. The Korean food kimchi is a well-known fermented form of cabbage in which the cabbage leaves are placed into stone crocks and stored outdoors while natural microorganisms along with a unique blend of spices, converts the leaves to kimchi (Figure 1). Another very famous alcoholic fermentation
is the Japanese drink sake. Sake is made from a combination of fungi that start with the conversion of rice with Koji mould, followed by conversion of the resulting fermented rice starch to alcohol with Saccharomyces yeast, also known as baker’s yeast (Figure 2).
Early ferments in cosmetics One of the earliest references to the use of a ferment extract in topical applications was discovered and commercialised as ‘Tissue Respiratory Factor’.3
Figure 1: Kimchi fermentation crocks
tea is a source of the potent skin care active epigallocatechin gallate (EGCG). Various microorganisms have found favour as engines of fermentation in the development of personal care ingredients, but Saccharomyces and the well-known probiotic Lactobacillus have been particularly popular. Less well known, but equally interesting, are fungi of the genus Galactomyces, which are known to be commensal microorganisms on the skin. When these microorganisms are grown
This fermentation-based
active was derived from an ethanolic extract of S. cerevisiae ferments. It was found that when the fermented ingredient was applied to wounds, the wounds showed an accelerated healing.4
In this
case, the yeast was grown on a nutrient media that did not include plant biomass. The emergence of fermented teas, especially
fermented green teas, is probably one of the first uses of fermentation in combination with plant biomass used in cosmetic ingredients.5,6
The tea
leaves were fermented to allow advantageous components to emerge that made the teas taste better. These fermented teas slipped naturally into the skin care arena because of their ready availability and well-established safety. Green
PERSONAL CARE April 2022
under controlled conditions in the presence of various other botanically sourced ingredients, the microorganisms convert the botanicals by breaking down proteins, lipids and carbohydrates contained within the plants. This allows the plant biomass to become lower in molecular weight and more likely to penetrate the lower levels of the skin’s epidermis where they become available for the skin to use.
New concepts in cosmetic multi-plant ferments As noted earlier, various microorganisms have essentially grown symbiotically with man and are considered very safe. The first is S. cerevisiae. This unique fungus has emerged as the workhorse in alcohol manufacturing. However, it is also the principal microorganism that is used in bread-making to enable the bread to rise. It is likely that S. cerevisiae plays a small role as a commensal microorganism on our
skin and in our guts, but it is not dominant compared to others. S. cerevisiae is especially active at transmogrifying sugars, a term call Bio-Transmogrification™. When a ferment is manufactured, after the fermentation process is complete, the microorganisms are crushed and removed. Doing this assures that the final ferment extract is free of any potentially living microorganisms. BotanicalsPlus has developed a blend of
adaptogenic plants, including extracts from the flower, leaf and stem of Centella Asiatica (tiger grass), Beta Vulgaris (beet) root and Tremella Fuciformis (snow mushroom). Known as Adaptogen Fermbiotics™ S this provides a ferment extract that has been shown to boost collagen production in vitro in normal human dermal fibroblasts (NHDFs). 7-9 The increase was shown to be around
28% compared to untreated fibroblasts. Such improvements in Type 1A collagen expression can translate to improvements in skin strength and can provide and anti-ageing benefit by minimising fine lines and wrinkles. Lactobacillus plantarum is a very
popular oral probiotic supplement that is used commonly by people to help with gut improvements.10
It is sold as active living
cultures in items like yogurt. In cosmetic ingredients, it is difficult to
provide the living microorganism because of the requirement for finished products to be well
www.personalcaremagazine.com
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