Monday, August 11, 2008 - 8:00 AM
S1
The Expanding Use of Microorganisms in Cosmetics
James V. Gruber, Arch Personal Care Products, South Plainfield, NJ 07080
The trend within the cosmetic industry to seek out ingredients based on natural sources is pushing the industry to look for new and novel ways to expand the benefits from botanical extracts. Arch has worked with fermentation for many years and is an industry leader in the development of new cosmetic ingredients based on fermentation. Historically, our focus had been on extracts that are based on fermentation with Saccharomyces cerevisiae or Bakers Yeast in which we apply stresses such as UV and ozone to the microorganisms to elicit protective responses. Capturing these protective elements forms the basis of Arch’s Biodynes fermentation platforms. However, there are many other interesting microorganisms that can contribute to the emerging field of biotechnology in cosmetics. For instance, recently Arch began exploring extracts that were derived from legume root nodules. These plant-based structures are actually symbiotic polymorphs made up of plant cells and microorganisms of the genus Rhizobium. In addition, we have begun programs to explore the combination of fermentation and botanical extraction by focusing on the influence of small plant-based molecules such as resveratrol, a unique molecule derived from grape skins, on expression of proteins from the genus Pichia. This program, dubbed Metabiotics, is emerging as Arch’s newest foray into the expanding use of fermentation in cosmetics.