The sugar palm can be used to keep your skin looking young

More people are now using cosmeceuticals — which are cosmetics that have medical benefits — to keep their skin healthy. One natural product that has shown great potential to be developed for cosmetics is the sugar palm fruit (Arenga pinnata). A study conducted by researchers from Atma Jaya Catholic University in Indonesia has shown that this fruit contains galactomannan that has many benefits on skin health. This finding, which was published in the journal Pharmacognosy Research, was determined using various in vitro tests.

• Cosmeceuticals contain biologically active compounds that benefit the skin.
• The rate of skin aging increases due to external factors like exposure to ultraviolet (UV) rays from the sun and stress.
• Plant extracts, such as green tea and ferulic acid, can improve skin structure and function with their antioxidant activities.
• Previous studies have shown that sugar palm fruit has in vitro anti-aging effects but the compound responsible for this activity has not been determined.
• Sugar palm fruit contains many polysaccharides that have antioxidant and anticancer activities. One of these is galactomannan, which has been shown to protect against UV damage when extracted from the fungi, torula (Candida utilis).
• The authors of the study extracted galactomannan from half-ripe sugar palm fruits and tested its ability to inhibit hyper pigmentation, neutralize free radicals, and protect against UV damage.

The results of the study showed that galactomannan from sugar palm fruits has whitening, antioxidant, and UV protective effects. These observations prove that this fruit can be developed into a cosmeceutical product for skin health.

Read the full text of the study at this link.

For more articles about natural cosmetics, visit Cosmetics.news

Journal Reference:

Yanti, Madriena, Ali S. COSMECEUTICAL EFFECTS OF GALACTOMANNAN FRACTION FROM ARENGA PINNATA FRUITS IN VITRO. Pharmacognosy Research. 8 February 2017;9(1):39. DOI: 10.4103/0974-8490.199773