Production, Isolation and Formulation of Health Beneficial Substances from Helichrysum Italicum for Applications in Cosmetic Industry

Due to the great awareness of the need for skin care, the number of consumers in the cosmetics industry is growing. At the same time, the need for products with proven effective natural active ingredients and the elimination of unnatural alloys (e.g., parabens, silicones, artificial colors, and synthetic fragrances) is growing. Biologically active substances obtained from natural materials have many positive properties, such as antioxidant, antimicrobial, anti-inflammatory and anti-cancer effects, and thus show great potential for applications in the cosmetics industry. The main goal of the project is to identify and characterize the most promising immortelle (Helichrysum italicum) genotypes for the Slovenian growing region to obtain biologically active components which would be used to prepare various formulations suitable for cosmetics. Therefore, the project proposal cites research to test the field performance of immortelle hybrids in the environment of the Slovenian Istria growing region by identifying genotypes with high capacity and unique properties. This would be followed by a detailed characterization and analysis of various extracts/distillates obtained by conventional and ultrasonic extraction, and sustainable, supercritical carbon dioxide extraction, as well as distillation and advanced SAFE extraction. The obtained plant extracts would be tested for antioxidant, anti-inflammatory, antimicrobial activities and their cytotoxicity and evaluation of their impact on the human skin cells transcriptome level. In further research, plant extracts or bioactive substances of immortelle would be bound into formulations suitable for use in the cosmetics industry in order to achieve synergy of antimicrobial and antioxidant properties of product with natural bioactive substances. These aims will be reached through specific objectives: 1) Breeding program of Adriatic HI, testing the field performance of hybrids of italicum ssp. in the environment of the Slovenian Istria growing region, identification of genotypes with high performance and unique properties, DNA genotyping of selected plants with microsatellites. 2) Detailed characterization/analysis of different extracts obtained from different genotypes. 3) Identification of key biological molecules and assignment of their potential function. 4) Testing antioxidative, antiinflammatory, antimicrobial and anticarcinogenic potentials of the plant extracts. 5) Formulation of bioactive components from immortelle with different techniques and materials (nanocellulose, alginate, chitosan, other polysaccharides, and liposomes) for the use in cosmetic products. 6) Testing the biological effects of plant extracts or isolated bioactive molecules on cytotoxicity as well as to evaluate the impact of HI plant extracts on the human skin cells transcriptome level. 7) Preparation of data and descriptions required for registration of candidate variety designated as “Afrodita” and providing planting material for the Office for Plant Variety Protection and Registration. The results of the research will be disseminated at national and international conferences and in scientific periodicals with IF. The implementation of the proposed project contributes to the growth of the Slovenian economy based on biotechnology, while enabling the diversification of agriculture in vulnerable, arid areas such as the Karst and Istria, which represents additional marketing niche and additional income for local communities. The use of formulations with antimicrobial and antioxidant efficacy from immortelle in cosmetics could offer consumers highly effective and user-friendly products. The project support Slovenian small farmers by providing them fully characterized planting material, and the leading Slovenian cosmetic industry Kozmetika Afrodita d.o.o., the main target user of the formulations, which are needed for development of new personal care products/line.