Gattefossé Emphasizes Sustainable Study for Bioactives

Pursuing the objectives of its CSR policy, French cosmetic ingredients maker Gattefossé is reinforcing the study of wasted materials to create bioactives.

Two bioactives were produced from the underutilized leaves of sea buckthorn: Eyeglorious and Noxifense.

In the company’s CSR roadmap, Gatt’Up & Act, the responsible management of waste is a “strategic stake.”

“Besides implementing a waste management system, we are also working with the notion of upcycling,” said Laurent Schubnel, group CSR leader at Gattefossé. “Wastes’ recovery is fully integrated right from the earliest stages of development. This approach has even been reinforced within the last years with several projects underway based on upcycling, as a source of future sustainable, responsible and effective products.”

Ingredient Creation

The company decided to make the most of the underutilized leaves of sea buckthorn (Hippophae rhamnoides).

This shrub features a phytochemical richness with an abundance of phenolic acids, lipophilic compounds, vitamins and organic acids, providing the plant with impressive biological potential.

Gattefosse’s research team took an interest in the unused sea buckthorn’s leaves. Work to secure the supply of the plant has taken the company in Quebec, Canada, in a family-owned orchard dedicated to its organic cultivation and the transformation of berries into food items.

Every September, the fruit-bearing branches are manually cut, allowing for tree pruning. The leaves are separated from the fruits, which will be transformed into juices, sorbets or jams.

Gattefossé recovers the leaves, upcycling the material.

Noxifense Leverages Sea Buckthorn Leaves for Application Possibilities

Following the success of Eyeglorious, a liposoluble anti-fatigue active obtained via supercritical CO2 extraction and launched in 2024, Gattefossé will soon introduce Noxifense. This new active introduces new possibilities for the application of seabuckthorn leaves.

Noxifense ensures a holistic approach to skin sensitivity care, by strengthening the skin’s defense mechanisms against environmental stress, said the company. It draws on the emergent theory of “oxi-inflammation,” the harmful interplay between oxidative stress and inflammation. Its soothing effects are achieved through a finely tuned process targeting families of flavonoids, which are of high interest for their antioxidant and anti-inflammatory properties.