Australians have access to an increasing diversity of seaweed and aquatic plant products. Editions of this e-newsletter will profile some of what’s an offer.
This time we are considering cosmetics made from a range of Australian seaweed species. There are more than 1,300 seaweed species in Australian waters, broadly divided into three main groups: red, green and brown algae. Representatives of these three types of seaweeds can be used to make different cosmetic products.
In Australia, cosmetics can fall under two different laws depending on the presence or absence of “bioactive” components. Some products contain bioactive compounds that produce a beneficial effect, and these are considered to be pharmaceuticals.
In some areas, your local markets may have a seaweed business selling skin cream, especially if you live in Tasmania. But other companies are manufacturing products such as facial scrubs, moisturisers and renewal creams, from green seaweed species, that you can purchase online.
Recently, one Australian seaweed farm has been awarded a contract to supply French cosmetic manufacturers with a natural red colour extracted from Asparagopsis seaweed grown in tanks. Other Australian manufacturers extract bioactive compounds such as fucoidan, from various brown seaweeds (e.g., Bull Kelp, Wakame). They use this to create new pharmaceutical products. Fucoidan is a highly bioactive polysaccharide (a complex carbohydrate) that has demonstrated beneficial dermal health properties regarding skin vitality, anti-inflammation and wound healing. Here is some recently published information about the component:
Advances in fucoidan extraction and structure-bioactivity relationships - ScienceDirect
Seaweed has the potential to create a shield to block norovirus infection - Griffith News
