The company just revealed the preliminary result of its collaboration with UTS which claimed to have discovered a new family of proteins found in human cells.
Adele Hosseini, chief scientific officer at Bod Australia, explained to CosmeticsDesign-Asia that these proteins have antioxidant characteristics which could potentially repair and protect the skin from the ageing process.
“Proteins are large complex molecules, they play many critical roles in the body. They do most of the work in cells and they are required for the structure, function and regulation of the body. They can work as antibodies, enzyme, have different functions. This family of proteins have this characteristic that they can work as an antioxidant.”
Additionally, these proteins can also act as a vehicle to carry components like cannabidiol (CBD), a chemical compound in cannabis which has antioxidant properties by itself, into the body.
Hosseini stressed that the research was still in its early stages and more study needed to be done before the company could patent the compound for commercial use.
“These are very early stages in the research. At the moment, we are just at the first of this three-year research. This is only the first phase that we can reveal but it is very promising. The next phase of this research is to see how we can bring it up and make products that you can commercialise.”
More research to be done
The company will continue to work with UTS on further research, said Hosseini.
She believes the outcome of the research has the potential to have broad applications, not just in skin care and beauty.
“It could be really something we can use for the application of pharmaceuticals. Specifically, we are working with medicinal cannabis, so we are planning to use this as a delivery system to the body for CBD and other cannabinoids that may be discovered in the future.”
Currently, most CBD or cannabinoid skin care research is directed at anti-ageing, however, Hosseini believes the research is only in its infancy.
“This is just the start. The more it is used, it can be filtered to see what is the actual important effects of CBD or other cannabinoids,” she said.
She added: “There is a huge opportunity for these products to serve the community, whether as an anti-ageing product or a therapeutic agent to cure some skin conditions. There’s absolutely potentials to treat other skin conditions, like acne, inflammation or more severe conditions like psoriasis.”