100 g Kakadu Plum Certified Organic Liquid Extract [Glycerine Based] - ACO 10282P

Kakadu Plum is a native tree from Australia which is found exclusively in the Northern Territory and around Arnhem Land. The Kakadu Plum fruit has the highest known Vitamin C concentration of any single natural food source in the world. Indigenous Aborigines have used this plant and its fruit extensively for food as well as for its traditional healing properties. It is known to have ten times the amount of Vitamin C found in other fruits, making it an excellent antioxidant to include in your cosmetic manufacturing needs.

Botanical name: Liquid Extract [Glycerine Based]

Common name: Kakadu plum

Applications: Floral waters, Linen waters, Body milk, Body lotions, Body custards, Serums, Face and eye creams (oil in water emulsions for the body & face).

Suitable for: Water based face and body products.

Usage Guide: 1-5% (this works out to be beween 0.4-2% as active in your formulation)

Safety: New Directions Herbal Liquid Extracts are for topical application only.

Composition: Glycerin (vegetable Derived), Purified Water, High concentration fruit extract.

Background Information:

Capturing the remarkable energy, magic and power of plants in order to find the secret to ever lasting beauty is an age-old quest the power of which hasn't been overlooked by our modern day cosmetics industry.

In ancient Egypt we see plants used to help prepare and pave the way to the next world or afterlife.Papyrus or reeds of the Nile became a symbol of freshness and vigor, the white lotus a symbol of fertility and the onion symbolic of universal wisdom. Moving on to Ancient Greek mythology and we again find many plant references with Athena, goddess of wisdom choosing the olive as her tree, Zeus the Oak and Demeter, goddess of agriculture the corn poppy.

European mediaeval literature shows herbs in an altogether different light and rather than glorifying them as healing elixirs shrouds them in mystery and magic as integral parts of the witches garden! Of course rather than being the spell binding creatures of another time and place it is probably more accurate to think of them as the first incarnation of the pharmaceutical industry offering medication to 'cure all ills' in the form of special brews, decoctions, tinctures and extracts. However, given that during this time sickness was seenas punishment handed down from the Gods it makes sense that the 'healers' were seen as being in some kind of pact with those higher powers.The familiar image of witches cooking up exotic concoctions over a steaming cauldron might sounds a bit far fetched but scientifically it makes sense. Water was probably the very first medium used to make plant extracts and while cold water is OK, hot water is a great choice - think of how this relates to the humble cup of tea! However over time it was realized that even greater potencies could be achieved with different solvents including alcohol and glycerin.

The power of steeping botanical in an alcohol solution was known by the Ancient Egyptians, Chinese and Indian cultures not least because drinking alcohol at that time was often safer than drinking water due to the potential for microbial contamination of water. However, alcohol wasn't and still isn't without its problems or concerns and as such, modern alchemists seek a gentler alternative to work with.

Glycerin fills the gap between water and alcohol extraction due to its inert and skin-compatible nature and high solubilizing power. Extracting plant material with glycerin is not a new thing and have a history of use in herbal medicine and are particularly prized in the medicine of the American Indians so while it is fair to say that the glycerin doesn't release as much or as diverse a range of actives from the plant material as alcohol if produced correctly it provides a gentle yet powerful alternative for those needing the alcohol free option.

Key Product Attributes

• Preservative Free
• Gentle and Moisturising
• Good for all skin types
• Pure and natural

• Antioxidant properties
• Free radical scavenging
• Irritation reduction
• Increase blood flow for skin healing

Hair Care

• Reduces oxidative stress
• Moisturising
• Volume building

Applications:

Skin Care: Anti-ageing care, night cream,antioxidant serums, environmental protection creams,clarifying cleansers, soothing after-sun gels for skin repair, eye serums.

Hair Care: Daily use anti-oxidative shampoo and conditioner, leave-in treatment for stressed scalp.

Appearance: Clear to cloudy, colourless to orange yellow mobile liquid.

Odour: Characteristic

References:
1) Magic and Medicine of Plants, Readers Digest, 1994.
2) Encyclopedia of Medicinal Plants. Andrew Chevallier.
3) Plant Genetic Resources: Characterization and Utilization, Volume 3, Issue 2 August 2005 pp 304-313.
4) Evaluation of the Efficiency of Three Different Solvent Systems to extract triterpene saponins from roots of Panax Quinquefolius using high performance liquid chromatography. J.Agric.Food Chem 2004, PP 1546-1550. Stefan Gafner, Chantal Bergeron, Megan M McCollom, Lorena M Cooper, Kerry L McPhail, Willian H Gerwick and Cindy K Angerhofer.Toms of Maine.
5) Anti-collagenase, anti-elastase and anti-oxidant activities of extracts from 21 plants. Tamsyn SA Thring, Pauline Hill, Declan P Naughton. School of Life Sciences, Kingston University, Longon KT1, 2EE, UK.