FUNCTIONAL INGREDIENTS
from sugar beet molasses, increasing the total sugar yield for sugar mills by 12%. Additionally, the technology yields another side stream of betaine-rich molasses. Betaine is a naturally occurring amino acid
derivative that plays a crucial role in various biological processes. It is found in plants, animals and even microorganisms. One of betaine’s notable functions is acting as an osmolyte, helping organisms maintain proper cellular hydration and osmotic balance to survive environmental stress like drought. The betaine-rich molasses side stream is
separated, purified, and crystallized to extract pure betaine in a crystalline powder form as Genencare® OSMS BA. This innovative approach of upcycling from sugar production side stream enhances resource efficiency without expanding our ecological footprint through additional land use.
Natural betaine: a moisturizing osmolyte Water management in organisms, including the skin, is controlled and regulated by a mechanism called osmosis. Osmosis is the spontaneous net movement of solvent molecules through a semipermeable membrane into a region of higher solute concentration. Osmosis provides the primary means by
which water is transported into and out of cells as responses to hypotonic (external medium is less concentrated than inside the cell) or hypertonic (external medium is more concentrated than inside the cell) conditions. Betaine, a major osmolyte, occurs naturally
in sugar beet. It plays a significant role in regulating osmotic pressure and maintaining cellular homeostasis. As an osmoprotectant, betaine helps the plant withstand high salinity conditions and drought stress.7 In humans, environmental stressors such as
heat, cold, or UV radiation can disturb the water balance of cells, leading to dry skin and protein destabilization. Osmolytes like betaine, which also occur naturally in the epidermal skin layer, are specialized molecules that can transport water across cell membranes. Betaine plays two primary roles in protecting
skin against external aggressions. When skin becomes dry, the skin cells are in hyperosmotic stress. A direct consequence of this is a water
Figure 1: IFF natural betaine upcycled from sugar production side stream
efflux that could lead to cell shrinkage. Keratinocytes respond by increasing the
production of osmolyte transporters on their cell membrane, resulting in an increased uptake of osmolytes. This increased uptake of osmolytes restores cell hydration and thus normalization of dry skin to normal, well- moisturized condition. Environmental stress can also disturb the
stability of macromolecules such as proteins. Osmolytes play a role in stabilizing protein structures within the cell (Figure 2). When the protein unfolds, water molecules are in direct contact with the core of the protein, leading to denaturation. The protein backbone is osmophobic, meaning it repels osmolytes. By attracting water away from the protein core, osmolytes helps protect the protein core by allowing the protein to fold and stabilize its native 3D conformation.
Benefits of natural betaine for skin care IFF’s natural betaine is a long-term skin moisturizer. Besides being an osmolyte and helping keratinocytes to survive hyperosmotic stress, it contributes to strengthening the skin barrier. It makes the tight junctions stronger, increasing skin barrier integrity and cohesion to limit water loss.
Osmolytes
Water molecules
Tight junctions are cell-cell junctions that
connect neighbouring cells and play a crucial role in epidermis cohesion and barrier function. They control the inter-cellular pathway of molecules, prevent the penetration of harmful substances, and helps naturally regulate water vaporization called transepidermal water loss (TEWL). A TEER test showed that increasing
concentration of IFF’s natural betaine improves the TEER of keratinocytes culture, representative of stronger tight junctions between the cells. According to another clinical study, IFF’s
natural betaine can significantly help improve the skin’s long-term moisturization by reducing skin TEWL over four weeks. In an in vivo long-term moisturization study of 41 female volunteers over a period of four weeks, it was found that natural betaine contributes to strengthening skin barrier and protecting skin from dehydration (Figure 3).
Benefits of natural betaine for hair care It has been shown that betaine has a high affinity with keratin and can penetrate the hair core and deposit on hair surface, providing hair strengthening and conditioning benefits, while helping to control frizz. In an evaluation using cortical scanning
fluorescence microscopy, tresses of Caucasian virgin hair were pre-treated with shampoo containing 4% IFF natural betaine and a control. The hair is damaged in an automated hair comber and went through five cycles of products application and successive combing. Results show that IFF’s natural betaine
Exposed peptide backbone
binds to the damaged sites and can help to strengthen the internal structure of the hair and to protect the hair against damages (Figure 4). In addition to being beneficial for hair,
Protein in the Unfolded state Less stable
Figure 2: Protein stabilizing effect of osmolytes
www.personalcaremagazine.com
Protein in the Native Folded state More stable
betaine can help reinforce the scalp/skin barrier as demonstrated by a four-week in-use clinical study on dry and sensitive scalp volunteers. In the clinical study, inclusion of natural betaine in both shampoo and conditioner significantly contributes to decrease the TEWL of the scalp (-9.4%), improving the scalp barrier integrity.
September 2024 PERSONAL CARE
49
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 |
Page 65 |
Page 66 |
Page 67 |
Page 68 |
Page 69 |
Page 70 |
Page 71 |
Page 72 |
Page 73 |
Page 74 |
Page 75 |
Page 76 |
Page 77 |
Page 78 |
Page 79 |
Page 80 |
Page 81 |
Page 82 |
Page 83 |
Page 84 |
Page 85 |
Page 86 |
Page 87 |
Page 88
