Every part of the plant contains a natural extract used as an ingredient in food or a skincare product. The genuine extract of a plant is scientifically proven to be beneficial to our health. As we all know, botanical ingredients have a vital role in our natural history. Even since the early times, our ancestors have used the power of nature for healing, food ingredients, and beauty purposes. Botanical extract is also part of botanical ingredients. The slight difference is; the botanical extract is a chemical liquid component of a plant that is retrieved through an extraction procedure. Essential oils and tea are examples of botanical extract. There are several ways used to obtain botanical extracts. It could be traditional methods or modern methods. But for natural botanical extracts, today’s industry prefers the three methods below;
Methods Of Extraction For Natural Botanical Extracts
- Physical Crushing – is intended for juice-type ingredients. Extracts for flowers, leaves, roots are obtained by manually crushing with the help of mortar and pestle or electric juicers.
- Aqueous Extraction – is done through steam distillation. This extraction procedure uses organic solvents like methanol, ethanol, chloroform. The water-soluble in a plant is removed during the process.
- Solvent Extraction – this procedure uses a solvent for extraction. This process removes more compounds than distillation. The downfall is the solvent used, like ethanol, can affect the actual content of the plant extract.
The most used procedure today is solvent extraction. In this procedure, more compound compounds in plants are removed, leaving only the volatile and the non-volatile components. The scientific innovation of plant extraction increased the efficiency of botanical extracts. Essential oils are oil-soluble, but they maximize their benefits through emulsions and an aqueous system.
Difference Between Botanical Ingredients From Botanical Extracts
Botanical ingredients refer to plant parts that are infused in products. It may include flowers, leaves, roots, or bark. The plant parts undergo a process such as drying, grinding to form a new product, or mixing them into a product to obtain the element. Whereas; botanical extracts undergo procedures to retrieve only the liquid chemical component of a plant part. Even though botanical ingredients are known for their benefits, some argue that botanical extracts are more beneficial than using plant ingredients (plant parts). It is because the plant extract has higher consistency. Apart from that, the extraction procedure eliminates the microbes and unwanted bacteria plant present in plant parts.
Nevertheless, both botanical ingredients and botanical extract have the maximum benefits compared to synthetic ingredients. People nowadays are more indulged in being close to nature by using products that came from it. The use of botanical ingredients in products is not only for beauty and wellness. But it is also for us to feel close to mother nature. There is healing in the beauty of nature. It is not only beneficial to our physical health but also our emotions. It is the reason most consumers believe that using products with botanical ingredients and extracts will give them the maximum benefits.
