Herbal Cosmetics Pharmacognosy
Herbal Cosmetics Pharmacognosy
Herbal Cosmetics Pharmacognosy
Herbal cosmetics:
Sources, chemical constituents, commercial preparations, therapeutic and cosmetic uses of:
Aloe vera gel, Almond oil, Lavender oil, Olive oil, Rosemary oil, Sandal Wood oil
Chemical Constituents:
Therapeutic Uses:
Cosmetic Uses:
Commercial Preparation:
It consists of benzoin, prepared storax, balsam of tolu, aloes and 90% alcohol.
2. The separation method, the bottom of the leaf is cut off and the leaves are left to “bleed”. This
leads to the aloin leaking out of the leaves.
This is the part of the plant known for its bitter taste and its laxative effect. For a quality
product, it is important that the aloin is kept out of the final gel.
After you remove the gel from the plants, you need to filter it. And finally, homogenize,
pasteurize and stabilize it. The last step is then to concentrate the gel. The process from –
cutting the leaves and the final
Aloe extract – you need to complete it within a maximum of 2 days. however, the quality
loss in the process can occur in a number of ways.
The most important reasons are the poor quality of leaves and poor or slow processing.
Now you can sell the concentrated aloe vera gel to the end consumers or to the industries
who produce herbal products with aloe vera gel.
Almond oil:
Source: Almond oil is a fixed oil obtained by expression from the seeds of Prunus amygdalus.
Chemical Constituents:-
Bitter almond contains fixed oil (40-50 percent), Protein (20 percent), enzyme emulsin and bitter
glycoside amygdalin (1-3 percent). It also contains volatile oil (0.5 percent). Amygdalin gives
benzaldehyde and hydrocyanic acid upon hydrolysis. Bitter almond oil contains 80 percent
benzaldehyde and 2-6 percent hydrocyanic acid.
Therapeutics Use:-
Inflammation
Immune changes
Impaired wound healing
Cosmetics Uses:-
Commercial Preparation:
1. The almond oil obtaining process is very similar to the processes for obtaining other nut
oils. The nut is harvested before the autumn rains start (August-September).
2. After harvesting, the next step is de-hulling, consisting of the removal of the mesocarp
that appears adhered to the nut and has not been lost by falling from the tree.
3. After de-hulling, the nuts are normally exposed to the sun for two or three days (drying),
as a general rule, or they are subjected to hot air ventilation, with the aim of finishing
their drying. By using drying, the humidity content is considerably reduced by up to 5–
8%.
4. After that, cracking takes place, which consists of the separation of the shell and the
seed (Harris, 2013). Finally, oil extraction takes place, generating also a solid edible by-
product. Some extraction systems will require a previous grinding of the seeds.
5. The most important operations in almond oil extraction, which would need to be
optimized with the aim of obtaining a better quality final product, are drying and
extraction.
Lavender Oil
Source: It is an essential oil obtained by distillation from the flower spikes of certain species of
lavender.
Chemical Constituents:
1. Harvest. Cut and dry enough lavender to make at least 1 oz. of dried lavender. (To dry, hang
cut flowers upside down in a dry, dark place for 2 to 4 weeks.) Add dried lavender to a clean
glass jar.
2. Infuse. Pour coconut oil over the lavender in the glass jar until lavender is covered
completely. Secure lid tightly and shake well. Store the jar near a window (but not in direct
sunlight) to infuse for 7 to 10 days. Shake every day or so.
3. Strain. Strain using a strainer or cheesecloth. Pour the mixture through a funnel into a clean
glass jar. Store in a cool, dark place; the oil will keep for up to 1 year.
Therapeutic Uses:
It is uses to promotes relaxation and believed to treat anxiety, fungal infections, allergies,
depression, insomnia, eczema, nausea, and menstrual cramps.
Cosmetic Uses:
Lavender oil works to kill bacteria, and this can prevent and heal acne breakouts.
Lavender oil can also be used to treat psoriasis.
The lavender oil helps cleanse your skin and lessen redness and irritation.
Olive oil:
Family: Oleaceae
Source:
It is the fixed oil expressed from the ripe fruit of Olea europaea Linne.
Chemical Constituents:
The olive oil contains the triglycerides mainly in the from of Olein, palmitin and linolein.
Commercial Preparation:
Therapeutic Uses:
Cosmetic Uses:
Rosemary Oil:
Source: Rosemary oil is distilled from the flowering tops of leafy twigs of Rosmarinus
officinalis
Family: Lamiaceae
Chemical Constituents:
The main constituents of the oils were p-cymene, linalool, gamma-terpinene, thymol,
beta-pinene, alpha-pinene and eucalyptol.
The oil consisted of monoterpenic hydrocarbons, oxygenated monoterpenes and
sesquiterpene hydrocarbons.
Therapeutic Uses:
Memory. Taking rosemary by mouth might somewhat improve memory in young adults.
It's not clear if rosemary aromatherapy helps.
May Help Relieve Pain.
Reduce Joint Inflammation.
Cosmetics Uses:
Family: Santalaceae.
Chemical Constituents
Therapeutic Uses:
Cosmetics Uses:
Sandalwood oil is highly used in perfumery creations and finds an important place in
soaps, face creams, and toilet powders.
Commercial Preparation:
1. Producing commercially valuable sandalwood with high levels of fragrance oils requires
Santalum trees to be a minimum of 15 years old (S. album) the age at which they will be
harvested.
2. The sandalwood tree’s precious sandalwood oil is located within the tree’s heartwood,
and the older the tree, the high proportion of heartwood it contains. Because the oil is
held tightly within the wood, a distillation process is required, in which the wood is first
ground to a powder form.
3. Steam distillation is a process in which steam heated at extremely high temperatures
(usually around 140- 212˚ F) is passed through the powdered wood.
4. The steam releases the sandalwood essential oil that is locked within the cellular structure
of the wood.
5. The mixture of steam and oil then flows through a condenser and cools, yielding a layer
of oil and a layer of water.
6. The sandalwood essential oil separates from the hydrosol (floral water) rises to the top so
it can then be collected.