Grapefruit Seed Extract
- Type
- Plant extract
- Botanical name
- Citrus paradisi
How it is made
In cosmetics, grapefruit seed extract is classed as a skin-conditioning agent. One supplier makes it by grinding grapefruit seeds and extracting them in a mix of water and glycerin; the mixture is then clarified and decontaminated by heat.[3]
Composition
Limonoids, oils and lipids are important constituents of citrus seeds, and limonin is the main limonoid in most of them. Samples made from the inner seed only contained mainly limonoids. Many commercial products contained large numbers of flavonoids, which shows that peel, pulp or seed coat was also used.[1]
Uses
Grapefruit seed extract products are widely used as naturopathic remedies, food supplements, disinfectants and sanitising agents, and as preservatives in the food and cosmetic industries.[2]
Synthetic preservatives in commercial products
Some commercially available products are not entirely natural.[1] Synthetic agents such as benzethonium chloride, triclosan and methylparaben have been found in commercial extracts, and preservatives were detected in all the extracts that acted against microbes. Products without preservatives and several home-made extracts had no antimicrobial effect, and some researchers concluded that the activity attributed to grapefruit seed extract is due only to the synthetic preservatives it contains.[2] In one analysis of 17 commercial products, two contained the synthetic antimicrobial agent benzethonium chloride as their main constituent.[1]
Laboratory studies
In a 2004 laboratory study, a fully natural extract of grapefruit seeds and pulp in ethanol acted markedly on the tested bacteria and yeasts, but less strongly than some commercial extracts. The authors concluded that the antimicrobial properties of commercial products are not necessarily due only to synthetic preservatives, and that there is not enough scientific evidence to support the medical use of grapefruit seed extract.[2]
Safety in cosmetics
In 2016 the Cosmetic Ingredient Review Expert Panel assessed grapefruit seed extract as used in cosmetics. It found the extract safe as currently used, provided products are made not to irritate or sensitise the skin.[3]
Products containing it
- Grapefruit Seed Extract Preparation (E 121)
- Grapefruit Seed Extract, Less Bitter (E 140)
- Oral Nasal Hygiene Spray Strong (E 142)
Sources
- ↑ 1.0 1.1 1.2 1.3 B. Avula et al., Liquid chromatography-electrospray ionization mass spectrometry analysis of limonoids and flavonoids in seeds of grapefruits, other citrus species, and dietary supplements. Planta Medica 82 (2016), 1058–1069; summary by the USDA Agricultural Research Service.
- ↑ 2.0 2.1 2.2 2.3 Z. Cvetnić and S. Vladimir-Knežević, Antimicrobial activity of grapefruit seed and pulp ethanolic extract. Acta Pharmaceutica 54 (2004), 243–250.
- ↑ 3.0 3.1 Cosmetic Ingredient Review, Safety Assessment of Citrus Plant- and Seed-Derived Ingredients as Used in Cosmetics. Final report, 18 January 2017.