From Student Research to Commercialization: A Case Study

A project that began as an undergraduate co-op research project is now developing and commercializing proprietary extracts of Artocarpus altilis (breadfruit) as novel sources of cosmetic raw materials. A method to produce proprietary cosmetic ingredients from breadfruit male inflorescences was established for industrial scale with collaborators in developing countries. The proprietary ingredient was found to have antioxidant activity, a desirable property for skin care formulations and has been formulated into five skin care products for the Altilis Beauty product line. A second proprietary product stream is being developed from breadfruit leaf extracts as a potential source of squalene. Currently, squalene is extracted from the livers of sharks and used as a moisturizer by the cosmetics industry. There is an expected increase in demand by the cosmetic, food and pharmaceutical industries combined, with a total of 5,300 tons (6 million sharks) required per year by 2022. Several brands including L'Oreal, Unilever and Estee Lauder phased out of using shark-sourced squalene in 2006 – 2008 replacing it with squalene extracted from olives but the yield is relatively low and there is still a high demand for shark squalene as a cosmetic ingredient. To replace shark squalene with squalene from a sustainable plant source, methods of high yield extraction need to be developed and the quality and purity need to be established. With support from the Fuel Injection Program with Innovation Guelph, a new sustainable breadfruit skincare line, Altilis Beauty™ was launched in 2017. Further development will continue through research at UBC and the University of Guelph in collaboration with Soleluna Cosmetics Inc.