{"id":2225,"date":"2022-11-30T09:24:29","date_gmt":"2022-11-30T09:24:29","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/horizon.peachpuff-wolverine-566518.hostingersite.com\/?p=2225"},"modified":"2022-11-30T09:24:29","modified_gmt":"2022-11-30T09:24:29","slug":"making-face-creams-from-coffee-beans-as-cosmetics-get-greener","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/scienceblog.com\/horizon\/2225\/making-face-creams-from-coffee-beans-as-cosmetics-get-greener\/","title":{"rendered":"Making face creams from coffee beans as cosmetics get greener"},"content":{"rendered":"

Cosmetics often use unsustainable ingredients, but new research is answering the growing demand for eco-friendly products.<\/p>\n

By<\/em><\/strong>\u00a0\u00a0TOM CASSAUWERS<\/p>\n

\u2018Plant ingredients have always been used in cosmetics,\u2019 said Heiko Rischer, head of plant biotechnology at VTT, a Finnish research centre. \u2018But in recent years, there’s been a revived interest in plant-based compounds. Consumers are interested in greener and more sustainable ingredients.\u2019<\/p>\n

Today, most of the key ingredients used in the \u20ac80 billion European cosmetics industry are synthetic or animal-based or taken from wild plants. Producing these ingredients sometimes includes solvents or processes that are unsustainable and are becoming less popular with consumers. Harvesting wild plants also puts natural ecosystems under pressure.<\/p>\n

Rischer and other European scientists are investigating how to get more natural and sustainable plant-based ingredients into cosmetic products.<\/p>\n

Ecosystem pressure<\/strong><\/p>\n

The\u00a0EU-funded InnCoCells<\/a>\u00a0project\u00a0that VTT is coordinating is creating alternative ingredient options by\u00a0growing plants or plant cells<\/a>\u00a0for use in cosmetics in a sustainable way.<\/p>\n

\u2018We grow plant cells and organs in bioreactors,\u2019 Rischer said. \u2018But other partners grow the entire plants in aeroponics and greenhouses or in the field.\u2019<\/p>\n

InnCoCells is researching the commercial production of innovative cosmetic ingredients from plants such as basil or aromatic ginger.<\/p>\n

\u2018Our work is currently in a bio-prospecting stage,\u2019 said Rischer. \u2018We evaluate different plant species for compounds. We start from a wide range of potential plants and reduce them over time.\u2019<\/p>\n

The team aims to develop up to 10 ingredients to bring to the market within the next three years \u2013 although it\u2019s still early days for a project that started in May 2021.<\/p>\n

\u2018Finding our way in this jungle of plant options is a challenge,\u2019 Rischer said.<\/p>\n

The focus is on the bio-active compounds in cosmetics, meaning the ingredients that create a desired effect such as anti-ageing of the skin rather than\u00a0ingredients like stabilisers or fragrances. An essential part of the work in InnCoCells is to have the cosmetics do what they promise in a transparent way.<\/p>\n

\u2018Cosmetics need to open up the evidence, so that products actually do what they claim,\u2019 said Rischer. \u2018This would really help the consumer make choices. When we buy food, there’s a lot of information on the package helping the consumer. We need to do the same for cosmetics.\u2019<\/p>\n

Coffee creams<\/strong><\/p>\n

In a separate, just-ended, initiative to green the cosmetics industry, the\u00a0EU-funded Prolific project<\/a>\u00a0transformed plant residues into ingredients for beauty products. The team extracted polyphenols from coffee silverskins, a type of compound useful in cosmetics because of its anti-ageing effects on the skin. The polyphenol extract was standardised and used in a prototype face cream.<\/p>\n

Normally, polyphenols are already derived from plants. But the compound is extracted through a chemical procedure resulting in waste that needs to be disposed of carefully. The project applied an environmentally friendly method, called subcritical water extraction, which only uses water under very high pressure to extract the polyphenols from the coffee silverskins.<\/p>\n

All in all, the Prolific research used a range of new processes to derive useful compounds from agricultural waste of different plant sources such as coffee beans, fungi and legumes.<\/p>\n

\u2018We use a cascading approach,\u2019 said Annalisa Tassoni, the project’s scientific coordinator and an associate professor at the University of Bologna in Italy. \u2018We do a first extraction, after which we look at what remains and try to extract another compound.’<\/p>\n

Ultimately the residual fibres were used at different stages of production. Three prototype cosmetics were made by Greek partner company COSMETIC including a face cream, toothpaste and even a container jar that was made from plant fibres.<\/p>\n

\u2018We valorise all the parts of the residues,\u2019 said Georgios Tsatsos, general director of COSMETIC. \u2018This goes up to the fibres left after the extraction process.\u2019<\/p>\n

Plant-based compounds<\/strong><\/p>\n

Several steps need to be taken before these green compounds can reach the cosmetics market. The techniques used by Prolific in processing coffee are close to being introduced into cosmetics production, but the methods need to be scaled up so that plant-based compounds can compete with synthetic ones.<\/p>\n

\u2018There’s a lot playing in favour of this process for coffee,\u2019 said Tassoni, \u2018We opened up perspectives, and confirmed that certain techniques really work.\u2019<\/p>\n

While it will be difficult to outcompete all of the synthetic techniques in use in the cosmetics industry, Rischer is optimistic about the outlook for more environmentally sound approaches.<\/p>\n

\u2018The cosmetics market is very big and diverse,\u2019 he said. \u2018Consumers are demanding more sustainable and green cosmetics, and within our own niche, we can have an impact.\u2019<\/p>\n

Research in this article was funded by the EU. This material was originally published\u202fin <\/em>Horizon<\/em><\/a>, the EU Research and Innovation Magazine.\u202f\u00a0<\/em><\/p>\n

More info<\/p>\n

Follow the links below to learn more about the EU-funded projects featured in this article.<\/p>\n