A bio technology firm in Korea has developed a method of obtaining protein from placenta stem cells to use in cosmetic products.
RNL Bio, a bio technology venture based in Seoul, Korea, says that it has developed a method to make cosmetic products using human stem cells obtained from placentas.
What are Placentas?
The placenta is the organ formed in the lining of the uterus formed when a woman becomes pregnant. It provides for the nourishment of the fetus and the elimination of its waste products. The placenta is expelled after birth.
In the cosmetic world, placenta is known as an anti-aging product. The placenta in cosmetics allegedly stimulates cell renewal functions in the body and stimulate tissue growth. By inducing the body's production of new cells, placenta is thought to slow down the aging process.
Due to the difficulty in obtaining a placenta, however, using placenta for the purpose of cosmetics was originally a treatment used primarly by affluent people; injections of placenta ran up to $10,000. Jennifer Lopez said that she used placenta treatment early in her career.
These days, placenta has become a more common ingredient in cosmetic creams and other skin care products. Makers claim that placenta-based cream scrubs also help to clear pores and stimulate blood circulation, which helps prevent cellulite
Using Stem Cells of Placenta
Until now, placenta has mainly been directly applied to the skin. People drink liquefied placenta, receive injections of placenta extracts, or apply skin care products containing placenta extracts.
RNL, however, has a different method of using placenta. In a press release, RNL described that instead of using the actual placenta, stem cell lines are derived from the placenta and these stem cells are used to culture protein cells. Proteins taken from the placenta will then be used in cosmetics.
Stem cells are "blank" cells that have the remarkable potential to develop into many different cell types in the body. Serving as a sort of repair system for the body, they can theoretically divide without limit to replenish other cells. This means that labs can obtain placenta cells without having to obtain the actual placenta.
``It will have an explosive impact on the industry, since it is the first case of using stem cell technology in everyday life,' said Hye-kyung Kim, a representative for RNL Bio.``Other placenta creams use liquefied placenta, which is obtained by heating it to over 100 degrees Celsius, and the process reduces the number of active proteins. But our stem-cell ingredients are very active and very stable,' Kim said.
RNL claims that the method of protein cultivation from stem cells was approved by the Personal Care Products Council of the United States, enabling use in production of producing commercial cosmetic products. The company is still in the process of negotiating regarding mass production of products made with stem cell technology.
