Strawberry BOTANY Fragaria ananassa L. It is a member of the Rosaceae family. It is commonly known as strawberry. It is a perennial plant of the Rosaceae family which sprouts every year. Its leaves and flowers spring from almost the ground, both with a similar length. Flowering stems with no leaves holding flowers with five petals, five sepals and numerous stamens. Leaves divided in three toothed oval leaflets, bright green above; more pale and hairy above; more pale and hairy below. It produces long rooting stolons where new plants may grow. The fruit, which is commonly known as strawberry, it is a red small berry. The strawberry is an accessory fruit, since the edible portion is non-ovarian in origin (it is largely swollen receptacle tissue). The true fruits which contain the seed of the strawberry are achenes, which are similar to tiny sunflower seeds. The achenes are the numerous, tiny, ellipsoid specks that cover the fruit surface. Fruit mature rapidly; ripening occurs in 20 to 50 days after pollination. Strawberry extract is produced from the fruits of Fragaria ananassa. CHEMISTRY Constituents Total Soluble Solid (%) 10.2 Total sugars (%) 5.0 Acidity (%) 0.52-2.26 Ascorbic acid (mg/100 g) 89 Carotene (mg/100 g) 0.15 Thiamine (mg/100 g) 0.03 Riboflavin (mg/100 g) 0.027 Nicotinic acid (mg/100 g) 0.6 Minerals (%) 0.5 Phosphorous (mg/100 g) 23 Potassium (mg/100 g) 161 Sodium (mg/100 g) 1.5 Calcium (mg/100 g) 22 Magnesium (mg/100 g) 11.7 Table 1. Chemical composition of strawberry (Koetcha & Madhavi, 1995). V 03-11/10 45610,45640,45660,45680-1
Carbohydrates The sugars constitute one of the major soluble components of strawberry (Koetcha & Madhavi, 1995). Table 2 shows the sugar content in strawberry fruits (expressed as % of the edible portion). Sugar content (% of the edible portion) Glucose 2.6 Fructose 2.3 Saccharose 1.3 Table 2. Sugar content in strawberry (% of the edible portion). (Belitz HD. & Grosch W, 1997) Organic acid Citric acid is the most abundant organic acid in strawberry. This fruit also contains low concentrations of a number of other acids, including malic, quinic and succinic acids (Belitz HD. & Grosch W, 1997). Table 3 shows the organic acid content in strawberry fruits (expressed as % of the edible portion). Main acid Other acids Malic (1-3) Strawberry Citric (10-18) Quinic (0.1) Succinic (0.1) Table 3. Organic acids in strawberry (mval/100g fresh weight). (Belitz HD. & Grosch W, 1997). Vitamins The most important vitamin in strawberry is vitamin C. Strawberry is also regarded as a good source of thiamine, riboflavin, and nicotinic acid (Koetcha & Madhavi, 1995). Phenol compounds Anthocyanin, mainly 3-glucosides of cyanidin and pelargonidin. Ellagic acid is a naturally occurring phenolic constituent present in fruit, especially in strawberries and other berries (Koetcha & Madhavi, 1995). Carotenoids Strawberry is also good source of β-carotene (Koetcha & Madhavi, 1995). TRADITIONAL USES The leaves and the fruit are mildly astringent, diuretic, laxative and tonic. Both the leaves and the fruit were in early pharmacopoeias. The fruit is used as a tooth cleaner. The fresh fruit removes stains from teeth if it is allowed to remain for about 5 minutes. V 03-11/10 45610,45640,45660,45680-2
COSMETIC PROPERTIES Trans-epidermal water loss (TEWL) regulating activity The moisturizing activity of strawberry is due to its carbohydrates and α-hydroxyacids (AHA) content. Carbohydrates are active principles widely used in cosmetics. Monosaccharides are hygroscopic, namely they are able to adsorb water and consequently maintain the moisture level of the horny layer. Oligosaccharides have the same property. These active compounds act by forming hydrogen bonds, preventing massive water loss and stopping dehydration. Additionally, some of these compounds form a protective film on the skin, preventing and slowing down transepidermal water loss. Most AHA are physiologic, natural, and non-toxic substances. All members of the group promote normal keratinization and desquamation. Those with multiple hydroxyl groups are moisturizing antioxidants, and are especially gentle for sensitive skin (Yu RJ & Van Scott EJ, 2002). Thus, strawberry extract is recommendable to formulate cosmetic products with moisturizing action. Antioxidant activity This activity of strawberry is due, mainly, to its content in phenol compounds and vitamin C. Phenol compounds The antioxidant activity of phenol compounds results from the combination of their iron chelating activity and their ability to scavenge aging-inducing free radicals. Phenol compounds can inhibit oxidases such as lipooxygenase (LO), cyclooxygenase (CO), mieloperoxidase (MPO), NADPH oxidase and xanthine oxidase (XO), thus preventing the in vivo formation of reactive oxygen species (ROS) and organic hydroperoxide. Additionally, it has been found that phenol compounds inhibit enzymes indirectly involved in oxidative processes, such as phospholipase A2 (PLA2), and stimulate other enzymes with well-known antioxidant properties, such as catalase (CAT) and superoxide dismutase (SOD). Through these mechanisms, phenol compounds impair the propagation reactions of free radicals and affect their very formation (Pérez Trueba G., 2003). Vitamin C Vitamin C is a powerful antioxidant with radical scavenging activity very useful in the treatment of photoaging. Vitamin C has photoprotective properties similar to those of vitamin E. Vitamin C can neutralize free radicals generated by UVB radiation. A study using pigs revealed that a pretreatment with vitamin C 10% reduced UVB-induced erythema and skin burn. In a further study, ascorbate also exerted similar protective effects against UVA radiation; it reduced the skin burns of pigs previously sensitized with psoralen and exposed to UVA. Other experimental models using human skin demonstrated similar effects for ascorbate as well as for the combination of ascorbate and vitamin E (Chiu A. & Kimball AB., 2003). Then, strawberry extract is recommendable to formulate cosmetic products to protect skin and hair integrity against oxidative processes. V 03-11/10 45610,45640,45660,45680-3
Activity on blood circulation Anthocyanosides like other flavonoids act like vitamin-p by reducing blood-capillaries fragility and increasing their resilience, thus exerting beneficial effects on the capillary and venous vascular system (López Luengo, M.T., 2002). Dye diffusion-based biological assays with animal models indicated that anthocyanosides reduce permeability and increase resilience of blood-capillaries. The activity of these heterosides seems to be related to the role that collagen in blood-vessels walls plays in blood-vessels permeability. It seems to be partially due to the inhibition of proteolytic enzymes that degrade collagen (elastase, collagenase). Anthocyanosides also show anti-edema activity. The properties of anthocyanosides at the capillary-vein level make these compounds and the preparations containing them useful to treat symptoms related to venolymphatic insufficiency and capillary fragility (Bruneton J., 2001). Thus, strawberry extract is very helpful to formulate cosmetic products with stimulating properties on general blood-circulation. Cell regeneration stimulating activity This activity is due to the α-hydroxyacids (AHA) content of strawberry. AHA act at the stratum corneum level. They act on the cohesion between corneocytes in the deepest layers, so that they make the stratum corneum thinner and improve skin flexibility. Fig.1. Stratum corneum. Such a cell regeneration stimulating activity is recommendable to formulate cosmetic products with exfoliating activity. COSMETIC APPLICATIONS Action Active Cosmetic Application TEWL regulating activity Antioxidant Activity on blood circulation Carbohydrates AHA Phenol compounds Vitamin C Anthocyanosides -Moisturizing -Anti-aging -Photo-protection -Hair color protection -Blood flow activation -Tonifying Cell regeneration stimulating AHA -Exfoliating V 03-11/10 45610,45640,45660,45680-4
RECOMMENDED DOSE The recommended dose is between 0.5% and 5%. BIBLIOGRAPHY Belitz HD. & Grosch W. Química de los Alimentos. Zaragoza: Ed.Acribia S.A, 1997,p: 861-922 (613 BEL). Bruneton J. Farmacognosia. Zaragoza: Ed. Acribia, 2001; p: 361-363 (651*1 BRU). Chiu A. & Kimball AB. Topical vitamins, minerals and botanical ingredients as modulators of enviromental and chronological skin damage. Br J Dermatol., 2003; 149: 681-691. Koetcha & Madhavi. Berrries In Handbook of Fruit Science and Technology. Production, Composition, Storage, and Processing. New York: Marcel Dekker, Inc., 1995; p: 315-334 (ref. 641*1 SAL). López Luengo, M.T. Flavonoides. OFFARM, 2002; 21 (4): 108-113. Pérez-Trueba G. Los flavonoides: antioxidantes o prooxidantes. Rev. Cubana Invest. Biomed., 2003; 22 (1): 48-57. Yu RJ & Van Scott EJ. Hydroxycarboxylic acids, N-acetylamino sugars, and N-acetylamino acids. Skinmed., 2002; 1 (2): 117-22. V 03-11/10 45610,45640,45660,45680-5