What is special about CO2 plant extracts
What plant extracts are there?
Plant extracts play a central role in natural cosmetics. There are various manufacturing methods for extracting the active ingredients. Plant extracts are obtained from fresh or dried plants. The extracts are divided into aqueous-alcoholic extracts, solutions in glycerin, in pentylene glycol or dry extracts. The water-soluble as well as the fat-soluble components of a plant improve the natural skin functions.
What is the importance of antioxidants?
In addition to 98% triglycerides, plants contain a large number of accompanying substances that have hardly been researched so far. These so-called secondary accompanying substances include antioxidants such as vitamins, tannins, fragrances and dyes. They strengthen a plant's resistance to cold, heat, UV radiation, moisture and pests. In skin care, antioxidants have a purely natural anti-inflammatory effect, they can compensate for cell damage caused by the environment, stimulate blood circulation, delay skin aging or soothe the skin.
What characterizes common cosmetic plant extracts?
Traditionally, the oil-containing active ingredients with their fatty acids are extracted from the seeds and fruits of the plants by cold pressing. Essential essences are obtained in cosmetics by steam distillation or with the help of extraction agents such as alcohol (ethanol, alcohol denat.) or hexane. Ethanol contains denaturants, which are classified as toxic and mutagenic according to the EU REACH regulation. These harmful chemicals remain permanently in the plant extract and also cause problems when disposed of in the environment. They are not biodegradable for decades. They accumulate in the soil, rivers, lakes and groundwater. At myrto, we do not use alcoholic plant extracts. The natural essential oils in our natural perfumes and in myrto hair and body care products are obtained exclusively by steam distillation.
What are the benefits of CO2 plant extracts?
When using CO2 extraction, the use of dangerous chemicals and solvents can be completely avoided. The solvent-free CO2 extracts are therefore environmentally friendly. The extraction process takes place without the addition of oxygen, so that the sensitive natural substances are protected from oxidation and loss of active ingredients. These plant extracts are microbiologically sterile, antibacterial and contain the entire spectrum of natural plant ingredients in their authentic entirety. No other process enables the complete removal of possible heavy metals and other toxic contaminants in the plant material. CO2 extractions dissolve significantly more oil-containing active ingredients than is possible through pure pressing. Especially in the case of sensitive raw materials, they contain components that are not found at all or not nearly as highly concentrated in conventionally produced plant extracts.
Supercritical CO2 extraction is the most modern and effective method for extracting ingredients from heat-sensitive plant and flower material without solvents and allergens, without reducing the active ingredient content. The CO2 plant extracts we use are produced extremely gently and without residues using natural spring carbonic acid as an extraction agent. The high-purity spring carbonic acid is of volcanic origin from the Eifel region. After extraction, the carbonic acid is returned in an environmentally friendly way and used repeatedly. Highly concentrated and very pure extracts are created under high pressure, in an oxygen-free space and at a low temperature of just 31 degrees Celsius.
The complex CO2 extraction equipment is designed for an extremely high pressure of 75 bar, which corresponds to a depth of 4000 m below sea level. For the supercritical CO2 plant extract, only a low temperature of around 31 degrees Celsius is necessary, so that even heat-sensitive, sensitive bioactive ingredients and aromas are optimally preserved. In comparison to other extraction methods, this results primarily in a higher content of sensitive antioxidants such as flavonoids, vitamins, carotenoids, tocopherols, sterols and anthocyanins. These active ingredients act as powerful radical scavengers to counteract inflammation, environmentally-induced cell damage and premature skin aging. In our myrto organic natural cosmetics, we prefer to use allergen-free CO2 extracts in certified organic quality.
For myrto hair , body and facial care , we prefer to use organic CO2 plant extracts, such as millet seeds, chamomile flowers, sea buckthorn, schizandra, rosemary, pomegranate, vanilla, rosehip seeds, amaranth seeds and chia seeds.
