Symrise and bioengineering Probi work on probiotic-based cosmetic ingredients

06-Mar-2019 - Last updated on 08-Mar-2019 at 13:58 GMT

Symrise and the Swedish bioengineering company Probi have joined forces to develop probiotic-based ingredients with cosmetics effects, the major ingredients supplier has said.

Researchers are specifically working on cosmetic ingredients for consumers with sensitive and dry skin, the company says.

“The beneficial effect of probiotics on health has long been scientifically proven,” says Symrise. “A team of researchers from both companies is now developing cosmetic ingredients for topical applications that are suitable for particularly sensitive and dry skin.”

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Strength of two industries

The cooperation between Symrise and Probi combines expertise from two different industries, the companies say.

Gerhard Schmaus, Vice President Global Innovation Cosmetic Ingredients at Symrise, notes: “We are convinced that this interdisciplinary collaboration will result in innovative cosmetic ingredients with many benefits, especially for sensitive skin.”

Probi is known on the market for well documented probiotic health products with excellent clinical documentation. Indeed, the Swedish company has established an expansive database of bacterial strains.

In addition, Probi can produce and supply commercial quantities of probiotics with consistently high quality, it says.

Symrise, meanwhile, has comprehensive experience in manufacturing cosmetic raw materials with functional benefits. In addition, Symrise has many years of expertise in producing spray-dried products for use in food and as cosmetic raw materials.

Lactobacilli focus

Currently the joint efforts are focused on the bacterial genus Lactobacilli, which are naturally occuring in dairy products, plants, the gut system and on the skin of animals and humans.

The research is being led by Dr. Kerstin Holmgren and Dr. Niklas Larson from Probi and Dr. Gerhard Schmaus and Dr. Dominik Stuhlmann from Symrise.

Dr. Holmgren explains: “We have already been able to demonstrate the effect of Lactobacilli on human health in numerous studies. We are now looking forward to seeing how the application of probiotic-based products affects the skin.”

Potential ingredient identified

Symrise suggests that one of Probi’s ingredients already looks promising in terms of possible cosmetics functionality.

“From several bacterial strains, Probi's Lactobacillus plantarum HEAL19 proved to be the most suitable to strengthen the skin barrier,” said Imke Meyer, Senior Global Product Manager Actives at Symrise.

“We are now working to make a product based on this specific Lactobacillus strain available for use in cosmetics.”