Mastering nature: a review

As well as an opportunity to learn about the latest developments from the company, the event also incorporated eight presentations from the company’s partners (both commercial and academic), showcasing cutting-edge scientific technology and innovation within the natural raw materials industry. The theme of the event was “Science and nature: mastering nature”, which neatly summarises the position the industry currently finds itself in. The use of natural ingredients is dominant throughout the marketplace, but although technical sophistication has increased over the past two decades, there still remain some limitations and we, as an industry, are still in the process of mastering natural ingredients to the point where they are as reliable and controllable as synthetic products. After a welcoming introduction from Silab’s R&D manager, Brigitte Closs, Dr Bernard Weniger, a visiting lecturer from the University of Strasbourg, delivered his seminar entitled “The botanical approach to sourcing: what are the requirements?”. An increasing number of plant extracts are being used in cosmetics, and these extracts consist of extremely well known varieties that have been cultivated and used in cosmetics for centuries, as well as relatively new extracts that have to be collected from the wild. Dr Weniger discussed the importance of compiling an exhaustive chemical and pharmacological profile of a plant, including the different extracts that can be obtained from it. The toxicological risk is also of vital importance, and Dr Weniger linked this to the identification of wild plants, which are more prone to misidentification. This can occur at several different stages in the process; during the collection, or during translation of the name where homonyms and synonyms can create confusion. An example of this type of misidentification was given by Dr Weniger where a Chinese medicinal plant, hang feng ji (Stephania tetandra) was replaced in weight loss capsules by guang fang ji (Aristolochia fangchi) which resulted in severe renal toxicity. The seminar continued with discussion on areas such as quality and hygiene (which includes the important concern of preserving the active molecules), regulatory compliance and environmental responsibility. Five-hundred thousand tonnes of plant starting materials are traded for pharmaceutical, food and cosmetics industries internationally each year, and as part of that amount, 3,000 species of plant are used. Of that 3,000 species only 900 are cultivated in a controlled manner. There are many reasons, said Dr Weniger, why wild plants are preferred; including long life cycle, active ingredients not being produced when cultivated, and too small a demand to be financially viable as a crop. Dr Weniger concluded by saying that sustainability and biodiversity initiatives are not magical solutions and other hard work must be done. A full version of this seminar is published in this issue of Personal Care on page 90.

A new approach

Next at the lectern was Professor Phillippe Michaud, from the University Blaise Pascal of Clermont Ferrand. His seminar, entitled “The biotechnological approach: manufacture and usage of microbial exopolysaccharide” expressed the importance of a well-controlled and industrialised approach to the production of microbial polysaccharides. There have been many microbial exopolysaccharides characterised but only a relatively small number have found significant commercial applications (in food with xanthan, in biotechnology with dextran and in cosmetology with hyaluronic acid). Exopolysaccharides (EPS) are high molecular weight polymers that are secreted by microorganisms, and these closely resemble non-microbial  polymers that are more widely used in our industry, which fits in well with the general current tendency for people to want to switch from synthetic to natural products without compromising other resources such as food. However, there are still obstacles to their increased use, but Prof. Michaud believes that with a greater understanding of the industrialised process, many of these obstacles can be overcome. Prof. Michaud stated that the nonmicrobial polysaccharides are often inferior in quality and it is only their price point that makes them currently a more attractive option. His seminar looked at recent developments in microorganic culture development in bioreactors for the obtaining of original polysaccharides, and according to Prof. Michaud, this process has inherent benefits relating to its ability to access a wide diversity of natural biomolecules in highly controlled conditions. After explaining tools necessary for production and the process for EPS detection, modification and degradation, Prof. Michaud concluded by saying that characterisation is the future, and that microorganisms are a source of original structures for glycan libraries. The following seminar was from Professor Gilles Comte of the Natural Substance Study Centre at the University of Lyon. The title was “Metabolomic analyses, a complex but powerful tool” and received many positive comments during discussions among guests after the seminars had ended. Prof. Comte first described what is meant by “metabolomics”, which he explained is a recently-developed scientific tool that follows on from genomics, transcriptomics, proteomics etc. It deals with the study of the entire metabolome of an organism or a cell and its variation depending on analytical conditions. As part of this, the study of the metabolite profile is crucial. Metabolites are the result of genetic information (expression of genes) and define the chemical phenotype of a plant, tissue or cell. Metabolomics is used not only to follow and assess the function of a gene, but also determine the state of the organism in given conditions and at a defined moment. Prof. Comte proceeded to explain the different types of metabolomic analyses (target analysis, metabolite profiling and metabolic fingerprinting), then secondary metabolite interaction, and concluded that metabolomics can be an incredibly powerful tool to aid sourcing of natural products. It limits the variability of quality by demonstrating the correlations existing between different parameters, activity and chemical content.