2012 Conferences in Review

Christine Teeple, Sarah Richards, Cindy Jones

Ann Harmon, Cindy Jones

George Wahl at the Colorado Aromatics Booth at the Lavender Festival

Dr. Cindy Jones talking on Biochemistry 101 at the SCC meeting

Before we get too far into 2013 I want to review some conferences I've been to this year. Since my kids are getting older its getting easier to take trips and get to educational events.

In April I went to the International Lavender Conference in Sequim Washington. This was fun for a number of reasons. I got to meet in person some colleagues I'd been working with in developing the United States Lavender Association (USLGA); Mary and Tim Bergstrom, Curtis Swift, Kathy Kimbrough, Sarah Richards and Christine Teeple, as well as making many more friends in the lavender industry. I also met Annie Harmon of Morning Myst Botanics who I'd been collaborating with and talking to for many years about distilling.

Summers were busy with farmers markets but we went to the Western Colorado Lavender Association's second annual Lavender Festival. This was our second time so we've been to all of them. My son and our foreign exchange student went with us and helped alot. Its a great festival with a great crowd.

We managed a trip to visit family in August. Then I went back to Grand Junction to attend the SW Lavender conference in September. At that meeting I talked on Using Distillates in Cosmetics. I toured some of the lavender farms their and visited with friends/colleagues again.

In November I went to the Intermountain West's Society of Cosmetic Chemists meeting in Salt Lake City. There I gave a talk on Biochemistry 101; a basic biochemistry talk that addressed the chemical groups of cosmetic ingredients. This was a great opportunity to meet with other cosmetic chemists and learn about more ingredients. I also had the opportunity to tour some manufacturing facilities.

I hope to take a few fun trips in 2013 as well, although nothing is definate yet.

Hops; more than just beer

Hops

 

I love hoppy beers like India Pale Ales and Double IPAs.  Hops is a very aromatic herb that adds bittering and a deeper flavor profile, especially to these types of beer.  Depending on the variety though, hops can add much more – sometimes a floral or citrusy flavor and aroma. The effect hops has on relaxation is definitely noted in beer to say the least. But hops are also good for the skin.

The part of hops used is the flower cluster although it looks more like a cone and is called a strobile. The hops vine is quite vigorous and needs a good framework to grow up.

Hops are very good for treating anxiety and sleeplessness. For this it can be used in a pillow or taken as a tincture. The vines of hops have tiny hairs on them that can cause dermatitis during harvest, however, an extract from hops can help dermatitis. Oral administration of hops can also have a beneficial effect on dermatitis. 

Some of the bitter properties of hops are due to polyphenols, resins, essential oils and alpha acids such as humulones. Humulone in hops can have an anti-inflammatory effect on the skin and decrease surface blood vessels. It may also have an anti tumor effect.

In one study xanthohumol was found to inhibit elastase and matrixmetalloproteinases. These enzymes in the skin are a significant cause of skin aging as they break down collagen and elastin fibers. When xanthohumol decreases these enzymes, collagen and elastin levels go up. Overall this can improve skin structure. Phytoestrogens in hops such as 8-prenylnaringenin can also have an effect of improving overall skin structure.

According to Wikipedia, hops are toxic to dogs so keep them away from anything made with hops.

Here is some additional information on hops chemistry if you are interested http://www.msue.msu.edu/objects/content_revision/download.cfm/revision_id.552851/workspace_id.-30/Hops-Hop%20Chemistry.pdf/

References

Philips N, Samuel M, Arena R, Chen YJ, Conte J, Natarajan P, Haas G, Gonzalez S., Direct inhibition of elastase and matrixmetalloproteinases and stimulation of biosynthesis of fibrillar collagens, elastin, and fibrillins by xanthohumol. J Cosmet Sci. 2010 Mar-Apr;61(2):125-32.

Lee JC, Kundu JK, Hwang DM, Na HK, Surh YJ., Humulone inhibits phorbol ester-induced COX-2 expression in mouse skin by blocking activation of NF-kappaB and AP-1: IkappaB kinase and c-Jun-N-terminal kinase as respective potential upstream targets. Carcinogenesis. 2007 Jul;28(7):1491-8. Epub 2007 Mar 19.

What is Vitamin K

Phytochemical series
Vitamin K

Vitamin K is important in blood clotting, building bones and protecting the heart. This fat soluble group of vitamins is found in a number of plants including asparagus, broccoli and leafy vegetables such as kale and spinach. Herbs high in vitamin K include parsley, basil, sage, thyme, cilantro leaf, oregano and marjoram.

phylloquinone

There are several forms of Vitamin K; vitamin K1 (phylloquinone or phytomenadione), vitamin K2  (menaquinone).  Menadione, or vitamin K3 is a synthetic form of vitamin K that is used as supplements.

Patients taking the drug warfarin (also known as Coumadin) are advised to restrict their intake of vitamin K. Vitamin K is necessary for synthesis of blood clotting proteins in the liver and so it counteracts the anticoagulant effects of warfarin. Vitamin K is good for blood vessel health and can help decrease bruising because of its effects on blood clotting.

In skin care vitamin K is thought to help with conditions having to do with the circulatory system such as dark circles around the eyes, rosacea and redness from broken capillaries (especially on the cheeks). Vitamin K also has some antiinflammatory activities. We use extract of parsley in some products because of its high vitamin K content.

Allantoin in Cosmetics

Allantoin is one of my favorite herb derived cosmetic ingredients. Its chemical name is 5-ureide-hydantoin. It is used in both cosmetics and drug preparations because of its ability to boost wound healing. Studies have found allantoin has wound healing, anti-irritating, hydrating, keratolytic, analgesic, cell proliferative and epithelial stimulating effects.  Its beneficial effect on wound healing seems to primarily be inhibiting the inflammatory response.  Allantoin enhances desquamation of dead upper layers of skin meaning that it promotes exfoliation and thus improves the smoothness of skin.

Allantoin is found in herbs including comfrey, plantain, yam, borage, tea, horse chestnut, uva ursi, and sour cherry stems. It is also found in animals (plants, animals and humans have very similar biochemistry. In fact, at one time blowfly larvae were used to treat severe wounds because of its high content of allantoin.  Comfrey powder was used during WWI to treat wounds.

Allantoin is formed from uric acid which occurs from breakdown of purine.  I love when my current reading takes me back to college biochem classes; ah, yes, purine salvage pathway. Purines include adenine and guanine which make up nucleic acids (DNA and RNA).  The body is very conservative and purines from the breakdown of nucleic acids or foods are typically salvaged to be reused in new nucleotides.  Just in case you are interested in purine metabolic pathways here is a short youtube video I found as a refresher: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mIJVb_HXUQk. 

When purines do breakdown (instead of being salvaged) they form uric acid which in most organisms is converted to allantoin by the enzyme uricase. Humans however, do not have this enzyme and so do not make allantoin, or at least not significant amounts. Allantoin will however, accumulate in times of oxidative stress and is a marker for that. Perhaps the fact that humans do not have the uricase enzyme that breaks down uric acid is the reason humans get gout; a disease caused by accumulation of uric acid in the joints.

But back to allantoins role in skin care. Allantoin is a white, odorless powder that is safe and non-allergenic. Its properties make it appropriate for aging skin, acne skin, scars, psoriasis, eczema, diaper rash as well as just dry, chapped skin. Because its an anti-irritant it is also suitable for very sensitive skin. It is typically used at concentrations from 0.1%  to 2% but sometimes higher for pharmaceutical preparations.

How does Colorado Aromatics use allantoin? In three of our balms we use allantoin containing herbs; comfrey in our Joint Jam for its analgesic effect, plantain in our Knuckle Balm for its wound healing effect and comfrey again in our Sole Pleasure foot butter for its softening and keratolytic effect. In our higher end products we use pure allantoin in our Springtide Antiaging Cream for its skin regeneration properties and antiaging properties and in our Oasis Spray Lotion for its anti-irritant properties. We also use it in our body powder to decrease itching and to sooth rashes.

Triglycerides and Skin Care

I thought I would do a series of blog entries on chemistry concepts that are important to the cosmetics crafter. Cosmetics crafters as well as herbalists come from diverse backgrounds often with no training in chemistry. If you are a cosmetic crafter or herbalist and have found that you could do alot more with some chemistry knowledge, then I hope my blog helps in your line of work. But before we get started, if you are planning on making your products ‘chemical free’ I suggest you think otherwise. Our bodies themselves are composed of chemicals and everything we put in or on our body is composed of chemicals. With some knowledge of chemistry we can find out which of these chemicals are safe, effective and actually good for us.

Lipids could be considered the most important part of skin care products. They are able to protect the skin from water loss, helping the barrier function of the skin. Lipids are defined by their ability to be soluble in organic solvents. In general lipids are used by mammals like us for energy reserves and to form cell membranes. The main lipid category is a triglyceride, also called a triacylglycerol. Other lipids include phospholipids, steroids and essential oils (for lack of any other category to put them). We’ll focus on the triglycerides alone though.

The structure of a triglyceride is a glycerol molecule as a backbone with three fatty acids attached to that. Since glycerol is a three carbon sugar, each fatty acid can bond to one of the carbons. Glycerine is also an alcohol as defined by the –OH groups.

Glycerin

Below is a triglyceride. You can see the three carbon glycerin portion of the molecule on the left and the fatty acid chains to the right. Using this type of connotation each bend of the line represents a carbon atom.

Triglyceride

Fatty acids are long chain hydrocarbons and identified by the number of carbons in their chain as well as by the number and placement of double bonds.

In this figure the first fatty acid from the top has16 carbons with no double bond. This fatty is abbreviated 16:0 and called palmitic acid. This fatty acid is saturated meaning that there are no double bonds in the chain. Each carbon atom is bonded to two hydrogen atoms (not shown) so the carbons are saturated with hydrogens.

The second fatty acid from the top has 18 carbons and one double bond. This is abbreviated 18:1 and is called oleic acid. Notice too that the double bond is at the ninth carbon.

The third fatty acid chain has 18 carbons again but three double bonds. This is abbreviated 18:3 and is refered to as alpha linolenic acid. This is an omega-3 fatty acid which refers to the fact that it has a double bond 3 carbons from the omega end of the chain.

So each different oil or fat you use in skin care is made up of triglycerides. Triglycerides found in different oils have different fatty acids associated with them which is referred to as the fatty acid profile. Various fatty acids can have different properties for skin care, a topic for another blog.

Gallic Acid Chemistry

Gallic acid is a plant chemical found in most plants but especially abundant in tea, grapes and oak. It is in a group of chemicals called phenolics. Phenolics are chemicals based on the structure of phenol which is a molecule with a ring structure containing 6 carbons with a –OH (hydroxyl group) attached to one of the carbons. A molecule with more than one phenol ring is called a polyphenol. These phenols and polyphenols are known as powerful antioxidants and found in many plants.

phenol can be written either way

gallic acid

Interestingly, this 6 member ring structure also referred to as an aromatic nucleus is only synthesized by plants and microorganisms, not animals or humans. Generally speaking phenolics are acidic meaning their pH is low (from 1-7).

Gallic acid has 3 –OH groups and one –COOH (carboxylic acid) group attached to the ring. Note that in these abbreviated structures shown that each of the 6 corners represents a carbon atom, so there are 6 carbon atoms in phenol.

Gallic acid can be found either alone or as part of plant tannins. Tannins are a family of high molecular weight, water soluble plant molecules. Another definition of tannin is a natural product containing phenolic structures that can precipitate proteins. They have an astringent taste (think tea) and have the ability to tan leather. When gallic acid becomes linked to a sugar such as glucose it can form a polygalloyl ester which is a simple type of tannin.

Gallic acid itself is an antifungal agent, antiviral, astringent and antioxidant. Some studies have indicated that it has anticancer activity and that it can relax blood vessels. Gallic acid isjust one of many polyphenols found in tea and grape seed that provide health benefits. Gallic acid is soluble in water and has a boiling point of 251 degrees C. This is a low enough temperature that it can be found in the distilled products of herbs.

tannin