• Journal of Life Science
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• v.18 no.2
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• pp.228-233
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• 2008

Antimicrobial activities of ethanol extracts of about 60 endemic Korean herbs and medicinal plants were investigated. When compared to the group treated with phenoxyethanol as a positive control, the growth of Pseudomonas aeruginosa was inhibited by Styrax japonica, Stevia rebaudiana, Morus Leaf, Coptis chinensis and Slavia miltorrhiza Bunge, the latter showing the strongest inhibition (97%). The growth of Staphylococcus aureus was inhibited by Acorus calamus, Pinus densiflora, Ginkgo biloba, Dryopteris crassirhizoma, Chrysanthemum zawadskii, Slavia miltorrhiza Bunge and Coptis chinensis, the latter showing the strongest inhibition (99%). The growth of yeast type fungi Candida albicans was inhibited to about 35% by Scutellaria baicalensis Geogr and about 33% by Coptis chinensis as determined by paper disk method. The growth of bacterium Malassezia furfur was inhibited by Paeonia lactiflora, Rosa multiflora, Coptis chinensis, Citrus aurantium L. subsp, Paeonia suffruticosa Andrews, and Galla rhois, the latter showing the strongest inhibition (57%). The growth of Propionibacterium acnes was inhibited by Galla rhois, Paeonia lactiflora, Morus bombycis, Cucumis sativus, Stevia rebaudiana, Coptis chinensis and Slavia miltorrhiza Bunge. Interestingly, Coptis chinensis and Slavia miltorrhiza Bunge showed the strongest inhibition (99%) similar to that in postive control. The possible components and their action modes were suggested and discussed.

• Journal of the Society of Cosmetic Scientists of Korea
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• v.33 no.2
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• pp.111-115
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• 2007

It is inevitable to use germicidal agents like parabens, imidazolidinyl urea, phenoxyethanol and chlorphenesin to preserve the cosmetics. Although effective in reducing microblological contamination, chemical preservatives are irritative, allergenic and even toxic to human skin. So it is needed to decrease or eliminate usage of preservatives in cosmetic products Glycerin, butylene glycol (BG), prorylene glycol (PG), and dipropylene glycol (DPG) are widely used in cosmetics as skin conditioning agent or solvents. At high concentrations, they have antimicrobial activities, but deteriorate product quality like sensory feeling or safety. The purpose of study is to evaluate the effects of polyols on antimicrobial and preservative efficacy and confirm whether using adjusted polyols can decrease the contents of preservatives without deterioration of the quality of cosmetics. Effects of common polyols on antimicrobial activities of general preservatives were measured. BG and PG significantly (p < 0.05) increased activities of preservatives, but glycerin influenced little. It was inferred from the regression analysis of the results with S. aureus that adding 1% of PG increased activities of preservatives up to $2.1{\sim}8.4 %$ and BG improved activities of preservatives up to $1.8{\sim}8.4 %$. The challenge test results for oil in water lotions and creams showed that BG and PG improved the efficacy of preservative systems up to 40 % at a range of $5.5{\sim}9.9 %$, but glycerin had little effect on it. The measured rates of improvement were analogous to the inferences from regression analysis. It can be concluded that is possible to reduce total chemical preservatives up to 40 %, consequently improve the safety and sensory quality of cosmetics with the precision control of polyols. Added to that, using this paradigm, low preservative contents, praraben-free system, and even preservative-free systems can be expected in the near future.