Berry Extracts - Polyfunctional Ingredients for the Development of Cosmetic Compositions

Nowadays, an urgent trend in the cosmetic and pharmaceutical industry is the development of compositions with antioxidants. Their task is to protect the body from free radicals, which are the main cause of aging. Berry extracts containing a whole complex of biologically active compounds - polyphenols, such as flavonoids and derivatives of hydroxycinnamic and hydroxybenzoic acids, anthocyanins and procyanidins - are particularly promising. Berry polyphenols have a pronounced antioxidant effect: they can act as reducing agents, hydrogen donors, singlet oxygen quenchers, and metal ion chelators, preventing metal-catalyzed free radical formation. This determines a wide range of their biological and cosmetic effects, including antibacterial, anti-inflammatory, photoprotective and other active properties. An important aspect in the development of cosmetic products with berry extracts is the study of colloid-chemical properties of the latter. On the basis of high biological activity and multifunctionality, in this work we consider sea buckthorn, bilberry, cowberry and strawberry extracts. Using the phosphomolybdenum method, it was found that bilberry extract has the highest antioxidant activity. According to the character of surface tension isotherms it was found that all the studied extracts possess surface activity at the liquid-air interface. Sea buckthorn and bilberry extracts have the most pronounced surface-active properties. The best wetting ability and work of adhesion to the surface of polytetrafluoroethylene also possess the named extracts, which agrees with the data of tensiometric studies. On the basis of the presented results the formulation of cosmetic lotion with bilberry extract as the most promising multifunctional ingredient of antioxidant and hydratant action was developed.