1. From plant to molecule

1.1 Plant matrix selection

When choosing to develop a new active ingredient, sourcing is the first issue to be addressed. New legislation, such as the Nagoya Protocol and the Access and Benefit Sharing Act, require cosmetics industry players to take all scientific and regulatory aspects into account before embarking on the study of a plant.

From a scientific point of view, the first question is which molecule(s) to look for and which activity to claim. This initially enables us to target a particular plant or family of plants, but everything remains to be done. What part(s) of this plant will be studied? Is it a little-studied plant? If so, how much is known about the species in traditional use?

From a regulatory point of view, it's natural...