Progress in a Study on the Use of Olive Tree Bio-products in New Cosmetic and Nutricosmetic Formulas
The feasibility study ‘OleaCare’, led by the Agrupaciones Empresariales Innovadoras (AEI) for the Industria Auxiliar Oléicola, INOLEO, promoted by Citoliva, has confirmed that certain phenolic compounds in the olive oil value chain display anti-aging properties.
Innovaoleo is participating in the OleaCare project, which also comprises the (AEI) for the Industria Auxiliar Oleícola, INOLEO, which Citoliva forms a part of; the Cluster of Nutrition and Health AINS, and the Universitat Rovira i Virgili (URV). The project consortium has conducted an initial study in Spain, using computer simulations (
in silico), and
has identified which bioactive compounds in the olive oil value chain with high anti-aging, anti-inflammatory, anti-obesity and anti-diabetic properties are the best candidates for use in cosmetics and nutricosmetics.
Based on the study of the scientific and legal framework that currently applies to the use of these bioactive compounds in cosmetics and nutricosmetics, conducted by INOLEO and Citoliva, the research has used cheminformatic analysis of molecular databases to identify, by way of virtual simulations,
the most promising bioactive compounds in the olive oil value chain for use in cosmetic and nutricosmetic products in terms of acting against aging, inflammation, obesity and diabetes, based on their chemical similarity to other molecules previously described and recorded which
retain the same health benefits, with the aim of predicting their biological activity and bioactivity.
After this bioinformatic analysis was carried out by the Universitat Rovira i Virgili (URV), the company INNOVAOLEO managed to obtain enriched extracts of these bioactive components identified for their isolation with a high level of purity, and
their use as new “third generation” cosmetic ingredients, with the ultimate aim of conducting a technical and economic feasibility study of these products.
The main results of the study, which were made public on
9th April at a meeting in Barcelona organised by the Cluster of Nutrition and Health, AINS, in collaboration with the Beauty Cluster, have confirmed that
some phenolic compounds in the olive oil value chain display properties that are similar to or better than the main active ingredients available on the market. In concrete terms, and by way of example, anti-aging properties have been found in some polyphenols of the phenolic acid and flavonoid types.
Carmen Capiscol, Head of Research, Development and Innovation at Citoliva, has highlighted the importance of this feasibility study for improving the competitiveness of the olive oil sector and its associated auxiliary industries, and for promoting the utilisation of high value compounds generated by the olive processing industry, “
as the number of cosmetics which contain olive oil extract is very limited on the national market. Most of the time, the product composition includes olive leaf extract or extract from the olive itself, without specifying either the percentage in the final composition or the definitive content in terms of polyphenols or other compounds of these extracts, so this could constitute a potentially profitable niche in the market,” she notes. Capiscol adds that this study will also contribute to promoting the health benefits of these compounds as a selling point for cosmetics and dental cosmetics, and to the development of new products with high added value for the customer, originating from the olive oil value chain.
The OleaCare project, co-financed by the Ministry of Economy, Industry and Competitiveness, within the framework of the Connected Industry 4.0 Strategy, promoted by the 2017 Meeting of Agrupaciones Empresariales Innovadoras, has focused mainly on the
biological properties of phenolic compounds and other bioactive components from the olive oil industry that are beneficial for our health; and on the technical and economic feasibility of incorporating them into revolutionary cosmetic and nutricosmetic formulas.
INNOVAOLEO
INNOVAOLEO is an SME from Andalusia and
is part of the Natac Group, which is dedicated to the R&D, production and sale of natural, plant-based ingredients, primarily extracts from Mediterranean plants. INNOVAOLEO’s aim in this project is the extraction, fractionation and purification of bioactive compounds from the value chain of the olive oil industry which have displayed activity in previous bioinformatic tests, as well as obtaining prototypes for application in the cosmetics industry.
For more information, contact: José Carlos Quintela (jcquintela@natacgroup.com).
