Guest guest Posted January 1, 2004 Report Share Posted January 1, 2004 >I was doing a search on Yahoo and found the following link on this " natural " preservative: >http://www.biochemresearch.com/citricidal%20as%20Cosmetic%20Preserve.htm >Has any heard of this? I have >Has anyone used it/using it? I am not using Citricidal >Please let me know your experience & /or knowledge of this product. The webpage you provided did not say that Citricidal was an effective preservative. Many ingredients can be used as preservatives in cosmetics. But there are only a few ingredients that have demonstrated their effectiveness by reasonable challenge tests including thousands of challenge tests run by cosmetic companies. I have never seen any challenge tests for Citricidal. If Citricidal were an effective cosmetic preservative, I would think that someone would publish the results of a reasonable challenge test. I haven't seen any. from the message archives: -------------------- > > >>Actually, they do---Citricidal (grapefruit seed extract). They do say they >>won't use any synthetic preservatives unless requested and then no more than >>1%. > >Citricidal may come from a natural source, Grapefruits, but according >to the one Citricidal website: >http://www.gfex.com/citricidal.htm > > " Citricidal® is synthesized from the polyphenolic compounds found in >grapefruit seed and pulp. " > >The method of manufacturing Citricidal is described on >http://www.nutriteam.com/gsewhat.html > >1) Grapefruit pulp and seeds (the by-product of expeller-extracted >grapefruit juice) is dried and ground into a fine powder. > >2) The grapefruit powder is dissolved in purified water and distilled >to remove the fiber and pectin. > >3) This distilled slurry is spray dried at low temperatures forming a >concentrated grapefruit bioflavonoid powder. > >4) This concentrated powder is dissolved in vegetable glycerine and >heated. Food grade ammonium chloride and ascorbic acid are added, and >this mixture is heated under pressure. > >5) This material undergoes catalytic conversion using natural catalysts >(including hydrochloric acid and natural enzymes.). > >6) This slurry is cooled, filtered and treated with ultraviolet light. > >and from http://www.nutriteam.com/gsewhat.html, referring to how >Citricidal works: > > " It should come as no surprise that we know a lot more about what GSE >is good for, than exactly how it works. " > >If Citricidal was a truely effective preservative, you would think that >the manufacturer would publish preservative efficacy test on their >website and major cosmetic companies would be using Citricidal in their >formulas. > >I do not question the toxicity of Citricidal just it's effectiveness as >a cosmetic preservative. -------------------- >If Grape Seed Extract were an effective preservative, all the major >cosmetic companies would be using GSE in their formulas. Aveda is the >only large personal care company that lists GSE on their ingredient >declaration for some products. But, in those Aveda products that use >GSE, Aveda also uses olidinyl Urea, Methylparaben and Propylparaben >(probably Germaben II). Why? Because GSE is NOT an effective >preservative. It's that simple. > >GSE may should activity against certain microorganisms, but I have >never seen ANY data that would suggest that GSE is an effective >preservative for cosmetics. The efficacy of preservatives is >determined through > >Some GSE products have been adulterated with antimicrobials. This may >be so. But just because GSE may be effective killing a handful of >microorganisms does not make it effective as a cosmetic preservative. > >An effective preservative is one that is capable of passing a >preservative efficacy testing, sometimes called a preservative >challenge test. > >The FDA's Bacteriological Analytical Manual (BAM) ><http://www.cfsan.fda.gov/~ebam/bam-toc.html> presents the agency's >preferred laboratory procedures for microbiological analyses of foods >and cosmetics. > >Quoting from the section entitled Microbiological Methods for Cosmetics ><http://www.cfsan.fda.gov/~ebam/bam-23.html>: > > " Cosmetic products are not expected to be aseptic; however, they must >be completely free of high-virulence microbial pathogens, and the total >number of aerobic microorganisms per gram must be low. Since there are >no widely acceptable standards for numbers, temporary guidelines are >used instead. For eye-area products, counts should not be greater than >500 colony forming units (CFU)/g; for non-eye-area products, counts >should not be greater than 1000 CFU/g. The presence of pathogens would >be particularly important in evaluating as unacceptable a cosmetic with >a marginally acceptable count, e.g., 400 CFU/g for an eye-area product. >Pathogens or opportunistic pathogens whose incidence would be of >particular concern, especially in eye-area cosmetic products, include >S. aureus, Streptococcus pyogenes, P. aeruginosa and other species, and >Klebsiella pneumoniae. Some microbes normally regarded as nonpathogenic >may be opportunistically pathogenic, e.g., in wounds. > >Cosmetic preservative efficacy. > >The above guidelines for interpretation of results apply to cosmetic >products before the time of use. Cosmetics contain antimicrobial >preservatives and thus are expected to withstand a certain amount of >abuse by users. Formerly, there were no validated tests for cosmetic >preservative efficacy, although the test for pharmaceutical >preservative efficacy in the U.S. Pharmacopeia or the cosmetic test in >the technical guidelines of the Cosmetic, Toiletry, and Fragrance >Association (CTFA) were used. Recently, the CTFA test has been AOAC >validated for use with liquid cosmetics. " > >In a preservative challenge test, multiple microorganisms, anywhere >from 5 to 10, are added to the product/preservative system being >tested. Hence, the product is being challenged. Then the product is >tested over several time intervals to see how quickly the preservative >system kills the microorganisms. As I recall, CTFA preservative >efficacy test method uses 10 different microorganisms as part of the >challenge and the product is tested after one hour, 7 days, 14 days and >28 days. This requires special equipment and knowledge of >microbiological techniques. >You would think that for just a few hundred dollars, the manufacturers >of GSE would be rushing to have this test conducted and the results >published. > >And now, lets address the information that is found on Pat McKay's >website >http://www.patmckay.com/Products.html > >Actually, the information on GSE is found on >http://www.patmckay.com/Product_11.html > >First of all, nowhere in this article does it say that GSE is an >effective preservative for personal care products. > >Pat McKay and Nutriteam put information on their websites is incorrect >and misleading. > >Why would anyone do that? I can come up with two possible reasons: > >1)They don't know that the information is incorrect and misleading > >2)The incorrect and misleading information is published to deceive. > >In either case, I wouldn't purchase a product from a company that is >unfamiliar with the products they sell and I certainly wouldn't buy >products from a company that tries to deceive me. -------------------- >Below are abstracts of two interesting articles that appeared in the >June 2002 issue of the Journal of Alternative and Complementary >Medicine (New York, N.Y.) > >A new list member, " MarthaE " , brought these >two artcles to my attention and asked for my comments: > >------------------- >The effectiveness of processed grapefruit-seed extract as an >antibacterial agent: I. An in vitro agar assay. > >Reagor L, Gusman J, McCoy L, Carino E, Heggers JP. > >J Altern Complement Med. 2002 Jun;8(3):325-32. > >School of Medicine, University of Texas, Medical Branch, Galveston, >USA. > >OBJECTIVES: Grapefruit-seed extract (GSE) Citricidal has, in recent >reports, been reported to be successful in combating a variety of >common infectious agents. In our study, drops of concentrated >grapefruit-seed extract were tested for antibacterial properties >against a number of gram-positive and gram-negative organisms. > >DESIGN: Sixty-seven (67) distinct biotypes were tested for their >susceptibilities to the GSE as well as to 5 other topical >antibacterials (Silvadene, Sulfamylon, Bactroban, Nitrofurazone, and >Silvadene, Nystatin). Wells were punched into Mueller-Hinton agar >plates, which were then inoculated with the organism to be tested; each >well was then inoculated with one of the antibacterial agents. After an >overnight incubation period, the plates were checked for zones of >bacterial susceptibility around the individual wells, with a measured >susceptibility zone diameter of 10 mm or more considered a positive >result. > >RESULTS: The GSE was consistently antibacterial against all of the >biotypes tested, with susceptibility zone diameters equal to or greater >than 15 mm in each case. > >CONCLUSIONS: Our preliminary data thus suggest an antibacterial >characteristic to GSE that is comparable to that of proven topical >antibacterials. Although the GSE appeared to have a somewhat greater >inhibitory effect on gram-positive organisms than on gram-negative >organisms, its comparative effectiveness against a wide range of >bacterial biotypes is significant. > >------------------- >The effectiveness of processed grapefruit-seed extract as an >antibacterial agent: II. Mechanism of action and in vitro toxicity. > >Heggers JP, Cottingham J, Gusman J, Reagor L, McCoy L, Carino E, R, >Zhao JG. > >J Altern Complement Med. 2002 Jun;8(3):333-40. > >Department of Surgery (Plastic), School of Medicine, University of >Texas Medical Branch, Galveston, USA. jphegger@... > >OBJECTIVES: Recent testimonials report grapefruit-seed extract, or GSE >(Citricidal) to be effective against more than 800 bacterial and viral >strains, 100 strains of fungus, and a large number of single and >multicelled parasites. This study investigated GSE for antibacterial >activity at varying time intervals and concentration levels and tissue >toxicity at varying concentrations in an effort to determine if a >concentration existed that was both microbicidal and nontoxic and in >what period of time. > >DESIGN: Gram-negative and gram-positive isolates were introduced into >graduated dilutions of GSE (twofold concentrations ranging from 1:1, >through 1:512) for determination of bacterial activity. In vitro assays >with human skin fibroblast cells were also performed at the same >dilutions to determine toxicity. > >RESULTS: These tests indicated that from the 1:1 through the 1:128 >concentrations, GSE remained toxic as well as bactericidal. However, >test results indicated that at the 1:512 dilution, GSE remained >bactericidal, but completely nontoxic. > >CONCLUSIONS: The initial data shows GSE to have antimicrobial >properties against a wide range of gram-negative and gram-positive >organisms at dilutions found to be safe. With the aid of scanning >transmission electron microscopy (STEM), the mechanism of GSE's >antibacterial activity was revealed. It was evident that GSE disrupts >the bacterial membrane and liberates the cytoplasmic contents within 15 >minutes after contact even at more dilute concentrations. >------------------- > >Based on the limited data available on the Citricidal websites, I've >always felt that Citricidal had some " antimicrobial activity " and these >two articles that were published in the Journal of Alternative and >Complementary Medicine only provide more support. > >However, just because a raw material or ingredient has antimicrobial >activity does not mean that same item is an effective preservative for >cosmetics. Methylparaben has antimicrobial activity but Methylparaben, >by itself, is not an effective preservative for cosmetics. > >And so too, just because Citricidal has demonstrated antimicrobial >activity against some undefined microorganisms does not mean that >Citricidal, by itself, is an effective preservative. > >Methylparaben is used as just one component in many multi-component >preservative systems. Perhaps, Citricidal could be used as just one >component of a multi-component preservative system. > >In your quest for a natural preservatives system, one of the most >difficult jobs will be defining what is mean by the word " natural " . > >I don't believe Citricidal, by itself, is an effective cosmetic >preservative nor does it fit my personal definition of the term > " natural " . -------------------- >While I was searching the CTFA dictionary, I also found a listing for " Citrus Grandis (Grapefruit) Fruit Extract " which is an extract of the fruit of the grapefruit, Citrus grandis. > >According to the dictionary, the INCI name for Citricidal is " Citrus Grandis (Grapefruit) Fruit Extract " . I always thought that Citricidal was GSE. -------------------- > > >>I don't usually enter into discussions of GSE because I'm sick of them (LOL) but >>have to say that Citricidal have been using organic grapefruit for a long time >>now! >> >>I have creams and lotions that are 9 months old now and preserved with only GSE >>and ROE. They have been lab tested by my local lab and are as good and clean as >>the day they were made. > >The only way to tell if a preservative or preservative system is >effective is with a preservative efficacy test or challenge test. > >Sounds like you just has an aerobic plate count (APC) performed on your >product. It's relatively easy to get low scores from an APC. >Unfortunately, a low score on an APC is not an indicatition that the >same product will pass a challenge test. > >I've searched and I have never seen any challange test data that would >make me believe that GSE is an effective preservative. If Citricidal >was an effective preservative, you would think that the manufacturer >would publish the challenge test result. As I recall, the Citricidal >website says that Citricidal is used as a preservative but never say >that Citricidal has ever passed a challenge test. > >I haven't checked Aveda product line lately, but they had GSE listed in >their ingredient list along with Propylene Glycol, olidinyl Urea, >Methylparaben and Propylparaben. > >If you are selling any cosmetic product containing GSE as the only >preservative, you should re-think your decision. You are exposing your >company to liability. -------------------- Maurice -------------------------------------------------------- Maurice O. Hevey Convergent Cosmetics, Inc. http://www.ConvergentCosmetics.com ------------------------------------------------------- Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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