Sustainable Sources from Aquatic Organisms for Cosmeceuticals Ingredients

Abstract

Long life expectancy of populations in the developing world together with some cultural and social issues has driven the need to pay special attention to health and physical appearance. Cosmeceuticals are gaining interest in the cosmetic industry as their uses fulfills a double purpose: the requirements of a cosmetic (clean, perfume, protect, change the appearance of the external parts of the body or keeping them in good condition) with a particular bioactivity function. The cosmetics industry, producing both cosmetics and cosmeceuticals, is currently facing numerous challenges to satisfy different attitudes of consumers (vegetarianism, veganism, cultural or religious concerns, health or safety reasons, eco-friendly process, etc.). A currently growing trend in the market is the interest in products of low environmental impact. Marine origin ingredients are increasingly being incorporated into cosmeceutical preparations because they are able to address several consumer requirements and also due to the wide range of bioactivities they present (antioxidant, whitening, anti-aging, etc.). Many companies claim “Marine” as a distinctive marketing signal; however, only a few indicate whether they use sustainable ingredient sources. Sustainable marine ingredients might be obtained using wild marine biomass through a sustainable extractive fishing activity; by adopting valorization strategies including the use of fish discards and fish by-products; and by sustainably farming and culturing marine organisms.