A hot new topic in the cosmetic industry today is "cosmeceuticals." These are cosmetics with therapeutic, disease-fighting, or healing properties. Serving as a bridge between personal care products and pharmaceuticals, these formulations have been developed specifically for their medicinal benefits. While the term "cosmeceuticals" may be new, STN has always been a rich source of information on these therapeutic ingredients.
I WAS A LEMON IN THE Garden of Love...
"While other girls, no more attractive than I, were invited everywhere, I sat home alone. While they were getting engaged or married, I watched men come and go. What was my trouble? A chance remark showed me the humiliating truth. My own worst enemy was my breath. From the day I started using Listerine Antiseptic. . . things took a decided turn for the better. I began to see people . . . go places. Men, interesting men, wealthy men admired me and took me everywhere. Now one nicer than all the rest has asked me to marry him."
Lambert Pharmacal Co. ad for Listerine Antiseptic,
September 11, 1939 LIFE Magazine, page 4.
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Cosmetic chemists, microbiologists, pharmacists, and physicians have long studied the concept of therapeutic cosmetics, even if they have not used this new term to describe it. The cosmeceutical concept has been around for millennia and is, in fact, as old as human observation itself.
One aspect of the current cosmeceutical craze is the incorporation of antimicrobial agents to such products as soaps, body lotions, and handcreams--not just to preserve the product but to provide a therapeutic benefit to the user. Yet, this too is hardly new. The antimicrobial effects of metallic ions, such as copper, lead, arsenic, and antimony, have been known and employed in cosmetics for thousands of years.
The ancients also knew that many natural products, such as honey or ointments made from certain barks, leaves, and roots, displayed antibacterial or antifungal activity. Today's modern research probing the bactericidal effects of polysaccharides is rooted in the ancient Egyptian prescription for a standard wound dressing--
or translated "grease, honey, and lint."
Mouthwash--a cosmeceutical?
A product that you might not think of as a cosmeceutical is mouthwash. Over the years, advertising for differing brands of mouthwash has emphasized both their therapeutic and cosmetic benefits.
The first modern, national advertising campaigns for mouthwash in the 1920s heralded the germ-killing virtues of their brands. In addition to eliminating "the germs that cause bad breath," mouthwash was also offered as an effective germicidal sore-throat remedy and a dandruff control agent.
One can go much further back in time, however, to see evidence of antimicrobial cosmetics. One such product was the "green eyepaint" of Egyptian women.
Malachite delight
Who can say when ancient Egyptian women first began to enhance their beauty by outlining their eyes with a mixture containing crushed malachite green? Archaeological records show that little kits for grinding eyepaint have always been an important item of the Egyptian ladies' toilette. The malachite eye-liner may have played a more important role than mere beauty -enhancement, however. Indeed, it is quite possible that its therapeutic properties were as valued as its cosmetic ones.
The Egyptian word for these eyepaint kits is, interestingly, quite similar to the Egyptian phrase "to protect." Some archaeologists propose that this is an allusion to the eyepaint's ability to ward off the eye diseases that were then and still are quite prevalent all over the Near East. The metallic ions of malachite, an oxide of copper, have a devastating effect on bacteria and have been used over the ages to fight all types of infections, including staphylococcal skin diseases.
For more than 5000 years, Egyptian women continued to draw thick lines about their eyelids using either green or black paint. These eyepaints even had their own cartouches:
When ancient Mesopotamian women embraced this cosmetic technique, they used a black eyepaint ground into an extremely fine texture which they called guhlu. This black eyepaint was produced from lead compounds, either stibnite or lead sulfide. As Arabian women adopted this practice from their Mesopotamian foremothers, their derivation of eyepaint's name became kohl.. Use of this ancient lead cosmeceutical is common even today in this part of the world.
STN: a rich source of cosmeceuticals
Mouthwash, eyepaint, soap, antiperspirants, skin lotion, sun screen, shampoo--the list of potential cosmeceuticals goes on and on. Yet, you can find information on almost any scientific and business issue relating to these products within the large and varied collection of STN databases.
STNindex is a powerful feature that lets you check large sets of files to determine which of the databases contain answers to the question at hand. Use INDEX ALLBIB to see a list of STN bibliographic files containing one or more documents dealing with cosmeceutical information.
To locate all the bibliographic STN databases containing records dealing with cosmeceuticals, use INDEX ALLBIB and SEARCH for "cosmeceut?" or "pharmaceut?" linked with "therapeutic?".
=> INDEX ALLBIB
INDEX '1MOBILITY, 2MOBILITY, ABI-INFORM, AEROSPACE, AGRICOLA,
AIDSLINE, ANABSTR, APILIT2, ...'
127 FILES IN THE FILE LIST IN STNINDEX
=> S (COSMECEUT? or PHARMACEUT?) (L) THERAPEUTIC?
1449 FILE ABI-INFORM
59 FILE CABA
178 FILE CANCERLIT
2336 FILE CAPLUS
518 FILE SCISEARCH
879 FILE TOXLINE
1178 FILE TOXLIT
39858 FILE USPATFULL
2640 FILE WPIDS
2680 FILE WPINDEX
93 FILES HAVE ONE OR MORE ANSWERS, 127 FILES SEARCHED IN STNINDEX
L1 QUE (COSMECEUT? OR PHARMACEUT?) (L) THERAPEUTIC?
STN allows you to enter FILE HITS to conduct a multifile search in the databases identified by STNindex as having answers.
=> FILE HITS
=> S L1
L2 123724 L1
This search can be limited to cosmeceutical agents that stimulate hair growth. Add search terms "alopecia" or "baldness" and search the cosmeceutical answer set (L1).
=> S L2 AND (ALOPECIA? OR BALD?)
L3 1442 L2 AND (ALOPECIA? OR BALD?)
Other search terms such as "male pattern" and "treatment" can be added to narrow your answer set even further.
=> S L3 AND (MALE? (L) PATTERN?)
L4 480 L3 AND (MALE? (L) PATTERN?)
=> S L4 AND TREATMENT?
L5 437 L4 AND TREATMENT?
Eliminate duplicates from your answer set and then display a few of the answers to discover additional text terms useful for reducing the number of answers.
=> DUPLICATE REMOVE L5
L6 418 DUPLICATE REMOVE L6 (16 DUPLICATES REMOVED)
=> D 1 4 6 TI AB
L6 ANSWER 1 OF 418 USPATFULL DUPLICATE 1
TI 16-substituted-4-aza-androstane 5-alpha-reductase isozyme 1 inhibitors
AB Compounds of the Formula I ##STR1## are inhibitors of the 5.alpha.
-reductase 1 isozyme, and are useful alone, or in combination with a
5.alpha.-reductase 2 inhibitor, for the treatment of androgenic
sensitive disorders such as acne vulgaris, seborrhea, female hirsutism,
male pattern baldness, and benign prostatic hyperplasia.
L6 ANSWER 4 OF 418 USPATFULL
TI Topical doxyl composition and method
AB A composition and method for ameliorating a cellular dysfunction of a
tissue such as the cosmetic treatment of hair loss and stimulation of
hair growth is disclosed. The method comprises administering 2,2 -disubstituted-4,
4-dimethyl-3-oxazolidinyloxy (DOXYL) to the affected tissue.
L6 ANSWER 6 OF 418 USPATFULL
TI Topical proxyl composition and method
AB A composition and method for ameliorating a cellular dysfunction of a tissue
such as the cosmetic treatment of hair loss and stimulation of hair growth is
disclosed. The method comprises administering substituted or unsubstituted
2,2,5,5-tetramethyl-1-pyrrolidinyloxyl (PROXYL) to the affected tissue.
Before you start searching for specific substances in any of the clusters or the databases listed, remember to start in REGISTRY first. Once you have the CAS Registry Number(s) for the specific cosmeceutical ingredient(s) that you are interested in, you can use the REGISTRY L-number answer set as a search query in the databases that contain CAS Registry Numbers.
Clusters with potential cosmeceutical information
For your convenience, STN has even created a "cluster" feature to enable you to search a group of databases simultaneously using STN's multifile search feature. The following list of clusters illustrates STN's rich offering of cosmetic and pharmaceutical information. There are at least eleven different clusters for you to explore.
AGRICULTURE
BIOSCIENCE (Bioscience Literature)
BUSINESS (Sci-Tech Business and News)
CHEMISTRY (Chemical Literature)
GOVREGS (Governmental Regulations)
HEALTH (Health Sciences)
MEDICINE (Medicine and Medical Science)
METALS
PATENTS
PHARMACOLOGY (Pharmaceutical Science)
TOXICOLOGY (Toxicological Information)
You can even create your own cluster by selecting any combination of databases from STN!
Create your own cluster in one of two ways
(1) Modify one of the clusters already set up by adding or deleting databases.
(2) Create a totally new cluster and fill it with databases of your choice.
In addition to the bibliographic databases identified with the INDEX search, other databases contribute valuable information on important aspects of cosmeceuticals such as natural products, government regulations, and various related chemical and biological activities. The following chart lists some of the more substantial STN resources for information on these topics:
Major types of information on cosmetics in STN files
Categories Databases
Business ABI-INFORM, BIOBUSINESS, CBNB, CIN, INVESTEXT, NLDB, PHIC,
PHIN, PIRA, PNI, PROMT
Bioscience BIOSIS, BIOTECHABS/BIOTECHDS, CABA, CANCERLIT, CAPLUS, CIN,
EMBASE, EMBAL, LIFESCI, MEDLINE, TOXLINE, TOXLIT
Chemistry CAPLUS, CBNB, CIN, IPA, JICST-EPLUS, SCISEARCH
Government CAPLUS, CBNB, CHEMLIST, CIN, CSNB, Regulations MSDS-CCOHS,
MSDS-OHS, NLDB, PNI
Patents APIPAT/APIPAT2, CAPLUS, DPCI, EUROPATFULL, IFIPAT, INPADOC,
INPAMONITOR, JAPIO, PATDD, PATDPA, PATOSDE, PATOSEP, PATOSWO,
PIRA, RAPRA, USPATFULL, WPINDEX/WPIDS
Toxicology BIOBUSINESS, BIOSIS, CANCERLIT, and SafetyCAPLUS, CHEMLIST,
CBNB, CIN, CSNB, EMBASE, HEALSAFE, HSDB, IPA, JICST-EPLUS,
LIFESCI, MEDLINE, MSDS-CCOHS, MSDS-OHS, NAPRALERT, NIOSHTIC,
NLDB, SCISEARCH, TOXLINE, TOXLIT
Locate modern studies of ancient cosmeceuticals
Q. Have there been any studies published recently on the antimicrobial effects of the ancient eyepaint kohl? What about the hazards of lead exposure due to continued use of this substance as a cosmetic?
A. Yes! STN contains a number of studies dealing with the eyepaint kohl.
Search for the use of kohl as a cosmetic in the ABI-INFORM and TOXLIT files.
=> FILE ABI-INFORM
=> S KOHL
L6 1616 KOHL
=> S L6 AND COSMETIC?
8909 COSMETIC?
L7 32 L6 AND COSMETIC?
=> S L7 AND EYE?
53089 EYE?
L8 11 L7 AND EYE?
=> D 3 TI AB
L8 ANSWER 3 OF 11 ABI/INFORM COPYRIGHT 1998 UMI Company
TI Tracing the origins of cosmetic preservation
AB Although the history of both preservation and cosmetics
reaches back thousands of years, the history of cosmetic
preservation is a much more recent subject.
The first recorded use of cosmetics is attributed to the
Egyptians, circa 4,000 B.C. The role of cosmetics in ancient
Egypt can be seen from the hieroglyphics, which depict scenes
from everyday life and the afterlife. Egyptian women blackened
their eyelids and lashes with kohl and edged the underside of
their eyes with a green paste made from malachite. Oddly enough,
this green ore of copper may have been the world's first preserved
cosmetic malachite green happens to be an excellent antibacterial
dye.
While the Egyptians used cosmetics early on, they certainly were
not alone. The ancient Sumerians, Babylonians and Hebrews all applied
cosmetics , from blue eye shadow to anointing with oil. Persian
women used cream for their complexion while Hindus applied an almond
paste to their body. In China, where many believe cosmetics had their
origin, women used powders and rouges as did fashionable Japanese women.
Many times, these cosmetics were used without any incidents. In other
cases, such as a European cosmetic known as ceruse, used from the second
century well into the 19th century, the application eventually proved to
he fatal. Ceruse was made primarily from white lead.
=> FILE TOXLIT
=> S KOHL
L9 3 KOHL
=> D TI AB
L9 ANSWER 1 OF 3 TOXLIT
TI Lead exposure alters the drug metabolic activity and the homeostasis
of essential metal ions in the lenticular system of the rat.
AB Potential lead exposure to the eyes as a result of the use of traditional
cosmetic Kohl in Asia, Africa and the Middle East has been a subject of
recent debate to the scientific community. In continuation of our earlier
work th author therefore examines in the present study, the drug metabolic
activity and the homeostasis of essential metal ions in the lenticular
system of adult rats exposed to long term low level lead (lead acetate
0.1% w/v).
Look for new product ideas
Q. I was fascinated to learn recently that honey exhibits antimicrobial properties. I'd like to take advantage of these unique properties by adding honey to a skin cream formulation that our company is developing. Would STN have any information on this line of research?
A. Yes! STN offers a seemingly unlimited supply of information on antimicrobial activities and the agents that display these activities.
In addition to honey, bees produce other therapeutic "bee-hive substances." One of these is propolis. While its chemical properties are not well understood, propolis shows promise for use as a sunscreen, a bactericide, an agent in the reduction of skin tumors, and as a hair growth stimulant.
SEARCH for references containing "honey" linked to "microb." Note that the CAplus file on STN gives you the power of searching left-hand as well as right-hand truncation ("?microb?"). This search retrieves 59 hits.
=> FILE CAPLUS
=> S HONEY (L) ?MICROB?
3695 HONEY
231515 ?MICROB?
L1 59 HONEY (L) ?MICROB?
=> D 4 TI AB
L1 ANSWER 4 OF 59 CAPLUS COPYRIGHT 1998 ACS
TI An overview of the topical management of wounds
AB A review with 29 refs. Wounds in animals are a common and
frequent reason for seeking veterinary attention. The way
in which wounds are managed affect the rate of healing, the
time to return to normal function, the final cosmetic appearance,
and hence the satisfaction of customers. The management of wounds
depends on the stage of wound healing and can include irrigation,
mech. and chem. debridement, the use of antiseptics and antimicrobials,
adherent and nonadherent dressings, and misc. topical applications such
as aloe vera, honey and live yeast cell deriv. The advantages,
disadvantages and indications for initial wound management, topical
applicants and dressings are discussed.
For potential skin care formulations, search the TOXLIT file for the effect of honey on the skin.
=> FILE TOXLIT
=> S HONEY AND (SKIN? OR DERMA?)
L1 37 HONEY AND (SKIN? OR DERMA?)
=> D TI AB
L1 ANSWER 1 OF 37 TOXLIT
TI The sensitivity of dermatophytes to the antimicrobial activity
of manuka honey and other honey.
AB Honey has been reported to have antifungal activity and so was
tested against clin. isolates of the common dermatophyte species
which cause tineas in man.
.
The results of this investigation show that the common dermatophytes
are sensitive to the antimicrobial activity of honey, indicating that
clin. evaluation of honey in the treatment of tineas is warranted.
This would det. whether the hydrogen peroxide or the non-peroxide
antifungal agent diffuses better into the skin.
A search in the NAPRALERT file for propolis yields 23 answers.
=> S PROPOLIS
L1 23 PROPOLIS
=> D
L1 ANSWER 1 OF 23 NAPRALERT COPYRIGHT (C) 1998 BD. TRUSTEES, U. IL.
AN 1998:1068 NAPRALERT
DN J12783
TI ANTITUMOR AGENT FROM PROPOLIS EXTRACTS
AU ARAI S Y; NISHIZAKI Y S; KIMOTO T O; KURIMOTO M S
CS HAYASHIBARA SEIBUTSU CO, CHEM LAB, JAPAN
SO PATENT-BRIT PAT APPL-2,302,809 (1997) p. 23-..
DT Journal
LA ENGLISH
OS CA 126:282806
This mummified mouse was discovered in a bee hive. To protect their hive from invasion, the bees had covered the mouse with propolis. The mouse is perfectly preserved without any signs of decay, providing a dramatic demonstration of the antiseptic properties of propolis.
To find out more about the effects propolis exhibits for skin, add appropriate search terms and continue searching NAPRALERT.
=> S L1 AND (SKIN? OR DERMA?)
1656 SKIN?
537 DERMA?
L2 1 L1 AND (SKIN? OR DERMA?)
=> D TI ORG
L2 ANSWER 1 OF 1 NAPRALERT COPYRIGHT (C) 1998 BD. TRUSTEES, U. IL.
TI HAIR GROWTH STIMULANTS PREPARATIONS CONTAINING PHENYLPORPENOIC
ACID DERIVATIVES
ORGN Class: DICOT
TYPE OF STUDY (STY): IN VIVO. Classification (CC): HAIR STIMULANT EFFECT
Dosage Information: EXTERNAL; RABBIT; CONC USED: NOT STATED
Qualitative results: ACTIVE
Comment(s): BIOLOGICAL ACTIVITY REPORTED HAS BEEN PATENTED. DATA INCOMPLETE -
DERIVED FROM AN ABSTRACT. A HAIR HAIR GROWTH STIMULANT
PREPN. WHICH COMPRISES A
INGREDIENT. CRUDE PROPOLIS FROM BRAZIL WAS EXTD. AND PURIFIED TO OBTAIN I.
THE HAIR GROWTH STIMULANT ACTIVITY OF I WAS SHOWN IN RABBIT SKIN HAIR AND
VOLUNTEERS. WITH ALOPECIA. COMPOUND. Chemical name (CN): PROP-2-ENOIC ACID,
3 -[4-HYDROXY-3-5-BIS-(3-METHYL-BUT-2-ENYL)-PHENYL].
What does the PROMT file have to offer on the antimicrobial cosmetic effects of honey and propolis on skin?
=> FILE PROMT
=> S HONEY AND (SKIN? OR DERMA?) AND COSMETIC? AND ANTMICROB?
L3 3 HONEY AND (SKIN? OR DERMA?) AND COSMETIC? AND ANTIMICROB?
=> D TI TX 3
L3 ANSWER 3 OF 3 PROMT COPYRIGHT 1998 IAC
TI Propolis Extract As a Sunscreen Agent
TX BY G.R. HERMANN & J.A. BRACAMONTE
LABORATORIO FANO, BUENOS AIRES
Propolis, honey, wax, pollen and royal jelly all are beehive
products, but propolis is the least known of all. It is produced
by Apil mellifica bees from a gummy resin collected from tree buds,
then is transformed by action of the bees' digestive enzymes into
a caulk-like product gathered by the beekeeper by scraping the
interior of beehives. Propolis is malleable and when the beehive
is warm, can be molded as a ball. If the scraping operating is
carried out in the cold, the material comes off in the form of
scales, but these may contain wood, paint and dust, so the material
must be purified before use. Besides its use as a caulk and inner
varnish, propolis is used to coat the cadavers of mice and other
animals that may have come into the hive, to avoid putrefaction.
Its bacteriostatic action and bacteriocidal activity (1,5,7,8) is
comparable to that of antibiotics, but without inducing resistance.
No toxicity is evident in white Wistar mice(2) and there is neither
carcinogenic nor teratogenic activity.(3) However, some allergic
reactions have been reported.
Besides its sunscreening ability, propolis has interesting
collateral properties. These include preservative value, helping the
cosmetic resist microbiological contamination, favorable skin
effects, promotion of melanin production, and emolliency.
Gain new insights
Q. I'm researching the therapeutic effects of various skin conditioner agents. I'm especially interested in their rate of absorption into the skin. Does STN cover cosmetic rheology studies?
A. Yes! The STN databases offer thousands of studies on rheology. To target your research questions more effectively, try grouping databases of interest together in a cluster, then searching the term "rheolog?" with other appropriate search terms.
STN's multifile search capability allows you to search several files all at once.
The study of rheological properties of cosmetics and toiletries has been gaining ground the past several years. Simply put, rheology is the science or study of how things flow. Cosmetics exhibit various types of motion depending upon what state they are in whether vapor, liquid, suspension, or a solid. The motion they exhibit can be further described as dripping, running, smearing, squirting, coating, oozing, wafting, or absorbing.
Create your own cluster ".rheo" and add whatever files you wish to search. Enter file .rheo and search for "rheolog." Focus your answer set on the rheology of honey in skin-care products.
=> SET CLUSTER .RHEO
ENTER LIST OF FILE NAMES OR (?): PROMT, BIOBUSINESS, NLDB, INVESTEXT,
NAPRALERT, ABI-INFORM, BIOSIS
MORE FILES, (NONE) OR ?:.
CLUSTER '.RHEO' DEFINED AS 'PROMT, BIOBUSINESS, NLDB, INVESTEXT,
NAPRALERT, ABI-INFORM, BIOSIS'
SET COMMAND COMPLETED
=> FILE .RHEO
=> S RHEOLOG?
L1 12148 RHEOLOG?
=> S L1 AND HONEY AND (SKIN? OR DERMA?)
L2 7 L1 AND HONEY AND (SKIN? OR DERMA?)
=> D 2 TI AB
L2 ANSWER 2 OF 7 PROMT COPYRIGHT 1998 IAC
TI Alternative materials for 'natural' products
AB Following the success of tea tree oil, another ingredient from
Australia is on the market - Emu oil. The oil has been employed by
Aborigines for generations to cure various ailments and, more
recently, New World Technology in the US has patented a purification
process which, it claims, gives the oil beneficial properties. The
purified product is said to be odour-free and safe to put on the lips
or eye area. The producer claims the oil has been shown to encourage
skin cell regeneration and has applications in treating scrapes,
burns, cuts and scars. It is said to ease conditions such as eczema
and psoriasis, and penetrates quickly into the skin without clogging
pores. It is even claimed to stimulate hair growth on the scalp.
Another animal-derived ingredient, Collagen was once a cosmetic best
seller. Mainly of bovine origin, the recent Bovine Spongiform
Encephalitis (BSE) scare has worried some sectors of the industry
about its safety. A vegetable replacement has been sought for some
time without success. Now Alban Muller International believes it has
found one from the sea. THIS IS AN EXCERPT: COPYRIGHT 1996
Morgan-Grampian PLC
Surprisingly, the search retrieved this reference to the cosmecuetical effects of Emu oil from Australia. This illustrates that the benefits of serendipitous discovery can be realized even during electronic browsing.
