In the wake of the profound transformations shaping what consumers today understand by well-being and self-care, oral health has also been affected. While issues such as inflammatory cytokines are more and more understood by modern science, natural and traditional remedies are also found to be science-backed and effective.
Learn about the role of turmeric in preventing issues with inflammatory cytokines and how choosing this natural ingredient for product development is interrelated with consumer behaviour trends today.
Content
Trends in oral care today: natural ingredients for holistic well-being
Consumer perceptions around oral care are shaped by current trends that intersect with other beauty and personal care markets: a preference for sustainable products and ethical brands and supply chains and predilection for botanical, traditional ingredients are just two of these.
The rise of conscious consumers also means they’re increasingly informed around health issues. This translates into a series of issues: on the one hand, they demand brands to provide transparent information about their product claims.
On the other hand, this means there’s been a transference in their preferences: from a general perspective to well-being, informed consumers now approach health as a series of small, attainable efforts that are laser-focused on their specific needs.
In oral health, this means consumers no longer demand products that only clean their teeth: they require additional benefits. These new demands include:
- Products related to particular oral health issues they might be concerned about. Oral care routines thus have started mirroring skin care routines and are increasingly detail-oriented. From products that target enamel protection, to gum health and breath-freshening, consumers want brands to respond to these needs.
Inflammatory cytokines are thus a part of these new consumer concerns. These small proteins are increasingly understood as playing a part in providing information about oral, systemic oncological or infectious diseases, according to this recent study.
- Age-related oral health products, such as those preveinting gum deterioration or tooth decay.
- Products that are specific for certain times of the day. For instance, certain toothpaste brands have created different products for the morning and evening tooth brushing.
- Formulas that incorporate natural ingredients. Familiar, food-based, botanical ingredients are increasingly welcomed into oral health products. These include elements such as activated charcoal, turmeric, ginger, probiotics/prebiotics or coconut oil, among others. This allows brands to also tap into vegan and plant-based lifestyles, a strategy that is particularly successful when paired with obtaining vegan cosmetics certifications.
Adaptogens are also particularly trendy in product formulations, especially as they’re related to anti-stress claims. Ginseng, ginger, licorice and turmeric are among the most sought-after of these.
Integrating these trends into oral care products might take many shapes. For instance, some brands have successfully developed toothbrushes that incorporate green tea extracts; others have launched toothpastes that include turmeric and green tea matcha as active ingredients, building on their anti-inflammatory holistic benefits.
Turmeric: the ingredient to complement oral care by targeting inflammatory cytokines
In order to help brands match current consumer demands in oral health, Provital developed TURMERIC EXTRACT . This is a water-soluble extract based on turmeric that provides science-backed anti-inflammatory and antioxidant properties, as well as acting on sensitive and/or irritated skin, and providing anti-aging, antimicrobial and antiseptic benefits.
This extract is based on curcuma longa, an herbaceous perennial plant that has been traditionally used around the world for different purposes, as a liver protector, a stimulant of bile duct secretions, anti-flatulent, diuretic, for curing catarrh, aphrodisiac, anti-parasite, anti-fever and anti-inflammatory.
Combining traditional knowledge into science-based insights, our turmeric extract presents the following properties:
- Anti-inflammatory: among its anti-inflammatory properties and closely related to inflammatory cytokines, turmeric has showed progress in animal models by inhibiting the activity of the enzymes cyclooxygenase- 2 and lipoxygenase as well as the enzyme nitric oxide synthase (Alonso J., 2004). Studies researching into the role of curcumin in systemic oral health have found it to be “as effective as cortisone or phenylbutazone, and half as effective in cases of chronic inflammation”.
- Anti-oxidant: the local application of turmeric extract has a recognised antioxidant and anti-inflammatory activity. In fact, it has been found to be more efficient than vitamin E as an anti-radical agent and as an inhibitor of lipid peroxidation (Prakash L. & Majeed S., 2003).
- Anti-microbial: Research by Bharat B. Aggarwal and Kuzhuvelil B. Harikumar has shown that curcumin in vitro is highly toxic to a number of prejudicial microbes that affect oral health.
Turmeric also presents other properties linked to oral health such as being immunostimulant, antiseptic, and antimutagenic, and can play a role in treating periodontal disease and oral cancers.
Thus, our turmeric extract stands out as the right botanical ingredient to be incorporated into successful oral health formulas today that target consumer demands with effective, science-backed products.
No comments yet
There are no comments on this post yet.
Leave a comment