Exploring new & green actives

TAKING a pro-active stance in the search for sustainable anti-ageing active ingredients, Oriflame announced a “significant investment in the cultivation of its own plant stem cell cultures” in the last quarter of 2013. Specific details of the investment were not disclosed, but the direct seller said the capability to cultivate its own plant stem cell cultures and to develop “powerful” anti-ageing ingredients that can boost and rejuvenate ageing skin.

The aim is to make affordable products with pure and highly sustainable anti-ageing active ingredients, according to Oriflame. Plant stem cell technology is highly sustainable and 100% traceable, the company said. It will also allow for the production of active ingredients that are completely safe and offer high purity, quality and effectiveness.

Such new sustainable extraction and processing methods are providing fertile ground for new green actives, reports Organic Monitor (www.organicmonitor.com), but are also presenting new technical challenges. On the one hand, since the actives are produced from plant cells in a laboratory, they have a significantly lower environmental footprint then traditionally harvested actives. On the other, new formulations – especially for brands that want to remain natural/organic – will face technical hurdles.

For Oriflame, which strives to significantly lower its ecological footprint. Using plant stem cells carries a number of important benefits: reduced water consumption, since the production of an active from plant stem cells requires roughly ten times less water than traditional methods; conserving natural resources – fields can instead be used for vital food cultivation; less energy is consumed in harvesting and processing; protecting biodiversity – only a very small part of a plant is needed to initiate a plant stem cell line, e.g. 1 kg of cells equates to 5,000 flowers, and no plants need to be picked from the wild; and increased purity, safety and quality since the ingredients are not affected by environmental pollution.

Plant stem cells are endlessly renewable; seasonal and geographical variations are eliminated and the batch-to-batch quality is guaranteed.

“The use of plant stem cells reflects our core identity of fulfilling dreams in a natural, progressive and ethical way,” said Dr. Alain Mavon, Skin Research director at Oriflame. “It will give our consumers affordable skincare products containing highly effective, sustainable and safe active ingredients through breakthrough technology. Moreover it demonstrates our emphasis on scientific endeavor and commitment to innovation that stands out in the direct selling industry.”

An anti-aging line, Ecollagen, contains proprietary plant stem cells. In vitro testing and with a group of women in a controlled setting resulted in increased collagen production by up to 200% in just six weeks, Dr. Mavon said.

Oriflame’s work on plant stem cells began in December 2012 at its Skin Research Institute in Stockholm. In addition to installing a state of the art Plant Cell Culture laboratory in-house, Oriflame has also entered into a collaborative partnership with Swedish company In vitro Plant-tech AB, specialized in biomanufacturing of cell cultures and explants from medicinal plants.