Frutarom expands production due to success of its Alguard plant
The new plant is said to be capable of producing more than 10 tons of purified polysaccharide solution per year — more than 30 percent production growth compared to the previous plant, according to Frutarom.
"This is the first stage of increasing the production of Alguard, with the growing demand in the market for sustainable and effective cosmetic ingredients I would expect to increase our production by 50 percent in the next few years," Anat Stern, product manager of cosmetic ingredients for Frutarom Health told CosmeticsDesign.com USA.
Scientists at Ben Gurion University developed a unique, patented growth system that allows Frutarom to grow the algae in artificial seawater and utilize the unique desert climate to stimulate production of the protective polysaccharide.
“With Alguard being unique in the market, and the increasing interest in effective, natural and sustainable ingredients for cosmetics, we anticipate a substantial growth in Alguard sales in 2012,” says Stern.
“We will be able to keep up with demand not just for our customers in Western Europe, the US and Japan but also for cosmetic companies throughout Asia Pacific”, she added.
In demand
"Alguard derived from a polysaccharide, forms a protective shield around a microalgae living in deep ocean zones," according to Stern.
Frutarom claims that this polysaccharide amour is the secret to the survival of the microalgae, which have to withstand a harsh environment.
Similar to its protective effects on the algae, the plant is said to protect the skin from oxidative stress as well as inflammation and prevents skin irritation. It also protects skin immune cells from ultraviolet-B (UVB) radiation and prevents adhesion of bacteria to the skin.
“Alguard acts as a triple-guard solution for a variety of cosmetic applications,” Stern explains.
“Firstly, the ingredient can directly protect the skin from irritants and oxidative damage, secondly by countering bacterial adhesion and thirdly by helping to protect the skin immune cells from UVB radiation,” she added.
Sustainable
According to the company, resources are neither exploited nor exhausted in the production of Alguard as “algae culture is sustained through a delicate and controlled growth process.”
“[The] production is completely natural, and also contributes to the local ecosystem by exploiting CO2 and releasing oxygen during the growth process, making it a state-of-the-art sustainable system,” says Stern.
The water-soluble polysaccharide is then collected and physically purified from the water surrounding the algae in order to obtain Alguard.
