Plant-derived ingredients

For thousands of years, nature, especially plant life, was the pharmacy from which people obtained their medicines. Even today it is estimated that 40% of all drugs contain at least one plant-derived ingredient [1, 2]. 

Hormones are not typically considered to be part of the diet, yet hormonal products represent an important segment of the dietary supplement market. Hormone supplements are promoted for maintaining or restoring physiological levels of hormones that decline with aging. Some preparations contain meat animal by-prodncts such as ovaries, uteri, and testes. Plant-derived ingredients include phytoestrogens and other compounds that mimic mammalian hormones. 

Nazmul Haq of the Department of Biology, University of Southampton, England (and until recently the Director of the International Centre for Underutilised Crops at the University of London) has reviewed new plant-derived ingredients in chapter 7. A wide variety of ingredient plants and food plants are identified. These plants will be invaluable over the years ahead as resources in their own right and as genetic sources for new varieties. 

HEALTH AND SAFETY FACTORS 6.7.1. Plant-Derived Ingredients... 

Comparison of previous exposure versus the intended cosmetic exposure can be initiated. Previous human exposure is researched. Exposure data by the dermal route, the route of application by cosmetics, will be limited. In order to proceed to the comparison of the previous exposure and intended exposure, it will be necessary to at least estimate the percutaneous absorption of the consitutents of both the comparator and the intended botanical. It is well known the topical application and oral ingestion often result in different proportions of the applied dose entering the body. The difference in bioavailability results mainly from a more extensive metabolism in the intestine and liver compared to skin, and a slower and incomplete transfer across the skin compared to the intestinal wall. The weight of evidence based approach is the so called history of safe use." Recently this concept has been accurately described by Constable (47) and it application in the safety of plant and plant-derived ingredients has been comprehensively discussed by Knudsen (48). 

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