Cultivating cleaner skin care: Tapping greener functionalities in botanical and mushroom ingredients

31 Jul 2023 --- Botanical compounds applicable in beauty formulas are abundant in nature. Aside from offering direct benefits to the skin, botanical ingredients continue to offer a myriad of properties useful in stabilizing and texturizing products.

In this Special Report, Personal Care Insights explores the latest advancements in botanical-extracted formulations for skin health with BASF, Cargill Beauty and Univar Solutions.

Sustainably harvesting mycelium
BASF Personal Care has released a revised version of its active ingredient Laricyl that features a more sustainable cultivation of the raw material while offering proven enhanced efficacy. For 20 years, Laricyl, an extract from the Fomes officinalis mushroom, has been a component of BASF’s portfolio of cosmetic active ingredients for pore refinement.

In an effort to align its actions toward more sustainable practices, the company now uses a method to cultivate the mycelium, the vegetative part of the fungus, by solid-state fermentation.

This replaces the harvesting of the mushroom from the wild. The production of the mycelium, which is now organic certified, is carried out in Europe on solid medium within a controlled incubation room. The new version of Laricyl is 99.7% from natural origin according to ISO 16128.

“We continuously revise our portfolio to produce even more sustainably. Of course, this should not be at the expense of performance,” says Lucilene Veira Nunes, head of business management for Bioactive Ingredients, EMEA.

“With Laricyl, we have now succeeded in making cultivation of the raw material more sustainable, while at the same time improving the results of the ingredient on immediate pore tightening, skin mattifying and moisturization.”

In a double-blind, placebo-controlled, split-face and randomized study with 25 female subjects, the revised version of Laricyl at a concentration of 3% improved the appearance of pores in size and number.

Image analysis showed that it minimized the appearance of visible pores immediately after application 2.8 times better than the previous version of the ingredient, with an astringent effect. The active ingredient also helped to remove excess oil from the skin, making it less shiny without drying it out.

Protecting natural resources is one of three focus areas of the company’s Responsibly Active program for its bioactives portfolio. Among other things, the program seeks to have 100% of botanical supply chains traceable to the source and sustainably sourced as well as 50% organic certified by 2030.

By revising the access to the fungus on which Laricyl is based, BASF continues to consistently pursue these ambitious goals. Besides conserving natural resources, the program aims to support people along the value chains and includes measures to reduce climate impact.BASF’s Laricyl is from a mushroom that has uses in pore refinement.

Fungal-based texturizing agent
Scleroglucan is a unique texturizer for cosmetic applications. However, the ingredient was historically used for other applications initially.

Scleroglucan is a general term used to designate a class of glucans of similar structure (i.e. a polysaccharide) produced by bio fermentation of sugars by fungi, especially those of the genus Sclerotium rolfsii. The commercial product is termed scleroglucan.

Interest in this polysaccharide was first aroused by Halleck of The Pillsbury Company, who is responsible for its initial development.

Pillsbury introduced scleroglucan in the market under the trade name Polytran, and in 1976 it was commercialized by CECA (France) under the name Biopolymer CS.

Subsequently, Satia, a division of Mero-Rousselot (France), produced scleroglucan under the trade name of Actigum CS6. Sanofi Bio-Industries (Carentan, France), which obtained the rights from Satia and CECA, were the main scleroglucan producers, trading scleroglucan under the commercial names Polytran and Actigum, respectively.

Sanofi Bio-Industries were acquired by Degussa Food Ingredients (Germany) in 1995, who manufactured scleroglucan under the brand name Actigum CS. In 2006, Cargill acquired Degussa Food Ingredients and continued trading scleroglucan under the same brand name.

The initial application of scleroglucan was in oil recovery where it showed greater efficiency and stability than xanthan over a wide range of temperature and pH. In oil recovery, scleroglucan increases the viscosity, and hence the hydraulic pressure of (sea) water or brine used to extract oil. It was also used to thicken drilling muds and completion fluids.

Presently, the nature-derived biopolymer scleroglucan has shifted to more premium application categories. Thanks to its behavioral properties and due to the fact that it’s a nature-derived ingredient, obtained through the biofermentation of sugar – a process with minimal environmental impact – and readily biodegradable, it has grabbed the attention of the personal care industry, Cargill Beauty highlights.

“Scleroglucan has the particularity to be non-ionic compared to xanthan gum (the main competitor) so it can be used in any formulation type with anionic or cationic ingredients,” says Benoit Verdu, sales manager Cargill Beauty.

“Compared to xanthan gum it is also less stringy and less sticky. Scleroglucan is particularly interesting for personal care applications as it can be used as an alternative to synthetic acrylates for suspension capacity in low viscosity formulations.”

Cargill Beauty produces Actigum CS11 QD, a nature-derived alternative to synthetic polymers.Cargill Beauty produces Actigum CS11 QD, a nature-derived alternative to synthetic polymers, which improves the naturality index of personal care products while bringing a unique sensory signature and consistency to the formula.

Actigum CS11 QD improves the smoothness two minutes after application, compared to an emulsion with a synthetic polymer. This smoothness is increasing compared to just after application.

In addition to scleroglucan, Cargill also developed Actigum VSX20, which is a combination of scleroglucan and xanthan gum.

“The synergy of those two nature-derived polymers provides enhanced functional benefits – a high yield value resulting in good suspending properties and a higher viscosity than what can be obtained with the individual ingredients at the same dosage,” details Verdu.

In toiletries or hair care formulations, Actigum VSX 20 allows personal care manufacturers to formulate the silky texture of gel, making it perfectly soft and extremely shiny with a pleasant after-feel.

“Scleroglucan really has amazing textural properties and it perfectly fits with the growing demand for nature-derived* personal care ingredients. Hence, it’s the perfect fit for personal care manufacturers that want to reformulate their products with a nature-derived texturizer,” Benoit Verdu concludes.

Univar expands distribution of botanical extracts
In business developments involving botanical extract supply, specialty chemicals supplier Univar Solutions expanded its exclusive distribution agreement with Angus Chemical Company covering the beauty and personal care market in the US and Canada.

Angus is a global manufacturer of specialty chemistries and ingredients for personal and home care, life sciences and industrial markets. With the expanded agreement, Univar Solutions adds Angus’ broad portfolio of natural botanical extracts complementing its existing portfolio of Angus’ high-purity Ultra PC multifunctional amino alcohols.

Univar Solutions now has over 40 Angus botanical extracts available, including rosemary leaf, sage leaf, vanilla bean, white tea leaf, yarrow and “dozens of others,” in the US and Canada.

The botanical extracts are produced by Angus in the US using sustainably sourced raw materials, with supporting documentation. Botanical extracts are widely used by formulators and brand owners to enhance the luxury and labeling of the latest hair care, sun care, skin care and color cosmetics formulations.

“Both of our companies have decades of experience and market expertise in the life sciences, personal care, and pharmaceutical markets,” comments Debby Neubauer, global business manager, home and personal care for Angus Chemical Company.

“Together with the operations and logistics capabilities of Univar Solutions, we are well-positioned to deliver unprecedented science, quality, and the supply chain excellence brand owners need for their natural botanical extracts.”

By Benjamin Ferrer

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