JP4748962B2 - Moisturizer, cell activator, whitening agent, and antioxidant - Google Patents

Description

The present invention relates to a humectant, a cell activator, a whitening agent, an antioxidant, a skin external preparation, and a food. More specifically, cell activator containing extract of Malva Nikkei (Cinnamomum daphnoides), whitening agents, antioxidants, skin external preparation, and a food.

  Causes of skin symptoms such as aging, ultraviolet rays, stress, wrinkles, stains, skin elasticity decrease, dryness, decreased cellular function, melanin production and pigmentation due to ultraviolet rays, decrease or degeneration of dermal matrix components, ultraviolet rays, etc. Examples include oxidative damage. In order to prevent and ameliorate such skin symptoms, search for various active ingredients and formulation studies have been conventionally conducted. As the cell activator, the essence of Ponkan (see Patent Document 1), as the whitening agent, water and / or organic solvent extract of Hakutsuru Reishi (see Patent Document 2), and as the antioxidant, the genus Sarogase Plant extracts (see Patent Document 3) are known.

  In addition, the prior art regarding a moisturizer, a cell activator, a whitening agent, an antioxidant, a skin external preparation, and a food containing an extract of malvanickey as an active ingredient was not recognized.

JP 2001-131045 A JP 2003-89630 A Japanese Patent Laid-Open No. 10-182413

  Naturally-derived components are known to have various pharmacological and cosmetic effects, and so far many plants and fungi have been widely applied to fields such as external preparations for skin and foods and drinks. However, there are many naturally-derived components whose effects are not yet known, and the development of active ingredients having excellent cell activation, whitening, antioxidant and the like has been expected. The present invention was made in order to find such an active ingredient, and provides a moisturizer, cell activator, whitening agent, and antioxidant that can be widely applied in the fields of external preparations for skin and foods and drinks. For the purpose.

  In order to find a moisturizer, a cell activator, a whitening agent, and an antioxidant that can be widely applied to fields such as external preparations for skin and foods and drinks, the present inventors have studied various substances derived from nature. It was. As a result, an excellent moisturizing action, cell activation action, whitening action and antioxidant action were found in the extract of malvanickey, and further investigations were made to complete the present invention. That is, the present invention is a skin external preparation containing a moisturizer, a cell activator, a whitening agent, an antioxidant, and an extract of one or more plants of malvanic acid, which contains malvanic acid as an active ingredient, And providing food.

  According to the present invention, it is possible to provide a moisturizer, a cell activator, a whitening agent, and an antioxidant having an excellent effect, and by blending them in a composition such as a skin external preparation or food, It is possible to provide various compositions that exhibit an excellent effect in preventing and improving various skin symptoms such as talmi, skin firmness, spots, and kusumi.

Malvanica ( Cinnamum daphnoides ), which is a plant used as a raw material of the present invention, is an evergreen tree that grows along the coast of a temperate region.

  When using malvanic silicate, it can be pulverized as it is, but an extract may be used. For extraction, any part of the trunk, branch, leaf, flower, seed, bark, sap, root, stem, bud, etc. of malvanica may be used. Seeds are preferably used, and leaves and stems are preferably used from the viewpoint of effectiveness. In the extraction, it may be used as it is, but considering the extraction efficiency, it is preferable to perform the extraction after performing processing such as shredding, drying, and pulverization. The extraction can be performed by immersing in an extraction solvent or by an extraction method using a supercritical fluid or a subcritical fluid. In order to increase the extraction efficiency, the mixture may be homogenized in stirring or an extraction solvent. The extraction temperature is suitably about 5 ° C. to the boiling point of the extraction solvent. The extraction time varies depending on the type of extraction solvent and the extraction temperature, but it is appropriate to set it to about 1 hour to 14 days.

  Extraction solvents include water, lower alcohols such as methanol, ethanol, propanol and isopropanol, polyhydric alcohols such as 1,3-butylene glycol, propylene glycol, dipropylene glycol and glycerin, ethers such as ethyl ether and propyl ether. And solvents such as esters such as butyl acetate and ethyl acetate, and ketones such as acetone and ethyl methyl ketone can be used, and one or more of these can be selected and used. Further, physiological saline, phosphate buffer, phosphate buffered saline, or the like may be used. Furthermore, you may use 1 type, or 2 or more types of supercritical fluids and subcritical fluids, such as water, a carbon dioxide, ethylene, propylene, ethanol, methanol, ammonia.

  Although the extract of malvanic acid from the above solvent can be used as it is, it can be used by re-dissolving the concentrated and dried product in water or a polar solvent, as long as these physiological functions are not impaired. It may be used after performing purification treatment such as decolorization, deodorization, and desalting, and fractionation treatment by column chromatography. The said extract of malvanic acid, its processed material, and a fraction are freeze-dried after each process and fractionation, It can also be melt | dissolved and used for a solvent at the time of use.

  Malvanica extract has excellent moisturizing action, cell activation action, whitening action and antioxidant action, and is used as a moisturizing agent, cell activator, whitening agent, antioxidant, external skin preparation, and food. be able to. In addition, moisturizers, cell activators, whitening agents, and antioxidants that contain malvanica extract as an active ingredient can be used not only for the skin but also for hair and can be taken orally. It can be applied to beverages or pharmaceuticals.

  A moisturizing agent containing an extract of malvanickey as an active ingredient exhibits an excellent moisturizing action on the skin and hair, and has a particularly high moisturizing effect on the skin.

  A cell activator comprising an extract of malvanickey as an active ingredient exerts an excellent activation action on various cells, but particularly exhibits an excellent effect on dermal fibroblasts.

  A whitening agent containing an extract of malvanickey as an active ingredient is effective in improving pigmentation symptoms such as stains and buckwheat, and is particularly effective in suppressing melanin production based on inhibition of tyrosinase activity.

  Antioxidants containing an extract of malvanic silicate as an active ingredient exhibit an excellent antioxidant action, but exhibit an excellent effect particularly on free radical scavenging action.

  In addition, the skin external preparation that exhibits an excellent effect in the prevention and improvement of skin symptoms such as wrinkles, tarmi, skin firmness, spots, kumi, dryness, fine wrinkles, etc. And can also be used as a skin external preparation for improving aging prevention and a skin external preparation for whitening. Furthermore, the extract of malvanickey can also be used for foods and beverages for the purpose of beauty, health maintenance or nutritional supplementation.

  The blending amount of the extract of malvanickey in the skin external preparation can be adjusted depending on the type of skin external preparation and the purpose of use. The amount is preferably 0001 to 50.0% by weight, more preferably 0.001 to 25.0% by weight.

  The dosage form of the external preparation for skin containing the extract of malvanica is arbitrary, and can be provided as a solubilizing system such as lotion, an emulsifying system such as cream or emulsion, and a dispersing system such as calamine lotion. Furthermore, it can also be provided in various dosage forms such as aerosols, ointments, powders and granules filled with a propellant.

  In addition to the extract of malvanickey, the external preparation for skin blended with the extract of malvanickey is usually used for pharmaceuticals, quasi-drugs, skin cosmetics, hair cosmetics and cleansing agents as needed. Blended oily ingredients, moisturizers, powders, pigments, emulsifiers, solubilizers, detergents, UV absorbers, thickeners, drugs, perfumes, resins, antibacterial and antifungal agents, alcohols, etc. can do. Moreover, in the range which does not impair the effect of this invention, combined use with another cell activator, whitening agent, and antioxidant is also possible.

  In the following, the production example of the extract of malvanickey, the test for evaluating each action, the formulation example as a skin external preparation and food, and the use test will be described in more detail, but the technical scope of the present invention is based on this. It is not limited at all.

[Production Example 1]
10 kg of a 50 wt% aqueous ethanol solution was added to 1 kg of a dry pulverized whole plant of malvanickey and immersed for 7 days at room temperature. The extract was collected by filtration, and after removing the solvent, a malvanic extract was obtained.

[Production Example 2]
Nine liters of water was added to 1 kg of dry pulverized whole of malvanickey and extracted by refluxing at 90 ° C. for 6 hours. The extract was collected by filtration, and after removing the solvent, a malvanic extract was obtained.

[Production Example 3]
Nine liters of methanol was added to 1 kg of dry pulverized whole of malvanickey and soaked at room temperature for 7 days. The extract was collected by filtration, and after removing the solvent, a malvanic extract was obtained.

[Production Example 4]
The whole plant of malvanickey was put into a supercritical extraction apparatus, and extraction was performed using a supercritical fluid of carbon dioxide at 40 ° C. under a pressure of 15 MPa. The extract was collected to obtain a malvanic extract.

  First, it shows about the activation effect | action of a dermal fibroblast of a malvanic extract. Samples obtained by extracting a mixture of malvanic leaves and stems according to Production Example 1 and Production Example 4 were evaluated as Samples 1 and 2, respectively.

The evaluation was performed according to the following procedure. Normal human dermal fibroblasts were seeded in a 96-well microplate at 2.0 × 10 ⁴ cells per well. The seeding medium used was Dulbecco's modified Eagle medium (DMEM) supplemented with 1% fetal bovine serum. After culturing for 24 hours, the culture medium was replaced with a test medium to which a sample having an arbitrary concentration was added, and further cultured for 48 hours. Subsequently, the medium containing 400 μg / mL of 3- (4,5-dimethyl-2-thiazolyl) -2,5-diphenyltetrazolium bromide (MTT) was exchanged and cultured for 2 hours. Formazan generated by the opening of the tetrazolium ring was removed. Extraction was performed with 2-propanol, and absorbance at 550 nm was measured with a microplate reader. At the same time, the absorbance at 650 nm was measured as turbidity, and the cell activation effect was evaluated by the difference between the two measured values. The evaluation results are shown in Table 1 as relative values with the cell activation effect in the blank with no sample as 100. In the table, * and ** indicate a significance probability of less than 5% (P <0.05) with respect to the significance probability P value in the t test, and a significance probability of less than 1% (P <0.01). It is represented by **.

  As is clear from Table 1, a significant dermal fibroblast activation effect was observed in the medium to which the malvanic extract was added. In particular, when 0.25 to 1.0 mg / mL of sample 1 and 0.5 to 1.0 μg / mL of sample 2 are added, the dermal fibroblasts are significant at a risk rate of less than 1% compared to the blank. A cell activation effect was observed. From this, it was revealed that the malvanic extract has an excellent dermal fibroblast activation effect.

  Next, the evaluation of the melanin production inhibitory effect of the malvanic extract is shown. Samples obtained by extracting a mixture of malvanic leaves and stems according to Production Example 1 and Production Example 4 were evaluated as Samples 1 and 2, respectively.

  The evaluation was performed according to the following procedure. B16 mouse melanoma F0 strain (B16F0) cells were seeded in a 35 mm dish at 2000 cells per dish. After culturing for 24 hours, the culture medium was replaced with Dulbecco's modified Eagle medium (DMEM) supplemented with 5 wt% fetal calf serum (FCS) to which a sample of an arbitrary concentration was added. After culturing for 7 days, the cells were collected using 0.25% trypsin, transferred to a 1.5 mL microtube, and centrifuged to obtain a cell precipitate. Furthermore, instead of the medium to which the sample was added, Dulbecco's modified Eagle medium (DMEM) to which 5 wt% fetal calf serum (FCS) was added was used as a blank, and visual determination was similarly performed. Further, as shown in Table 2, the visual judgment was performed by a five-step evaluation. Table 3 shows the determination results.

  As is clear from Table 3, when a medium containing 0.01 to 0.1 mg / mL of sample 1 and 0.05 to 1.0 μg / mL of sample 2 was used, almost no blackening was observed, It has been clarified that the malvanic extract has an excellent inhibitory effect on melanin production.

  Next, it shows about the antioxidant effect of a malvanic acid extract. Samples obtained by extracting a mixture of malvanic leaves and stems according to Production Example 1 and Production Example 4 were evaluated as Samples 1 and 2, respectively.

The evaluation was performed according to the following procedure. 100 μL of a malvanic acid extract solution diluted to an arbitrary concentration with a 50 wt% aqueous ethanol solution was added to a 96-well microplate. Next, 100 μL of a 1,1-diphenyl-2-picrylhydrazyl (DPPH) solution prepared in ethanol to a concentration of 0.2 mM was added to a 96-well microplate. The mixture was left in the dark with stirring, and the absorbance at 516 nm was measured after 24 hours. When the absorbance of the blank with no sample added was (A) and the absorbance when the sample was added was (B), the value of formula (1) was defined as the radical elimination rate. The evaluation results are shown in Table 4.
Formula (1) {1- (B) / (A)} × 100 (%)

  As is clear from Table 4, it was found that the malvanic extract had an antioxidant action based on radical scavenging.

  Then, the prescription example of the skin external preparation which mix | blended the malvanica extract which concerns on this invention is shown.

[Formulation Example 1] Emulsion (1) Squalane 10.0 (wt%)
(2) Methylphenylpolysiloxane 4.0
(3) Hydrogenated palm kernel oil 0.5
(4) Hydrogenated soybean phospholipid 0.1
(5) Polyoxyethylene monostearate
Sorbitan (20E.O.) 1.3
(6) Sorbitan monostearate 1.0
(7) Glycerin 4.0
(8) Methyl paraoxybenzoate 0.1
(9) Carboxyvinyl polymer 0.15
(10) Purified water 53.85
(11) Arginine (1 wt% aqueous solution) 20.0
(12) Malvanickey extract [Production Example 1] 5.0
Production method: The oil phase components (1) to (6) are heated and dissolved at 80 ° C. On the other hand, the aqueous phase components (7) to (10) are dissolved by heating at 80 ° C. The oil phase component is added to this while stirring and uniformly emulsified with a homogenizer. After emulsification, start cooling and add (11) and (12) sequentially and mix uniformly.

[Prescription Example 2] Lotion (1) Ethanol 15.0 (wt%)
(2) Polyoxyethylene (40E.O.) hydrogenated castor oil 0.3
(3) Fragrance 0.1
(4) Purified water 78.38
(5) Citric acid 0.02
(6) Sodium citrate 0.1
(7) Glycerin 1.0
(8) Hydroxyethyl cellulose 0.1
(9) Malvanic extract (Production Example 3) 5.0
Production method: (2) and (3) are dissolved in (1). After dissolution, (4) to (8) are sequentially added, and then sufficiently stirred, (9) is added and mixed uniformly.

[Prescription Example 3] Cream (1) Squalane 10.0 (% by weight)
(2) Stearic acid 2.0
(3) Hydrogenated palm kernel oil 0.5
(4) Hydrogenated soybean phospholipid 0.1
(5) Cetanol 3.6
(6) Lipophilic glyceryl monostearate 2.0
(7) Glycerin 10.0
(8) Methyl paraoxybenzoate 0.1
(9) Arginine (20% by weight aqueous solution) 15.0
(10) Purified water 40.7
(11) Carboxyvinyl polymer (1% by weight aqueous solution) 15.0
(12) Malvanickey extract [Production Example 1] 1.0
Production method: The oil phase components (1) to (6) are heated and dissolved at 80 ° C. On the other hand, the aqueous phase components (7) to (10) are dissolved by heating at 80 ° C. The oil phase component is added to this while stirring and uniformly emulsified with a homogenizer. After the emulsification is completed, add (11), start cooling, add (12) at 40 ° C., and mix uniformly.

[Formulation Example 4] Cosmetic liquid (1) Purified water 27.45 (% by weight)
(2) Glycerin 10.0
(3) Sucrose fatty acid ester 1.3
(4) Carboxyvinyl polymer (1% by weight aqueous solution) 17.5
(5) Sodium alginate (1 wt% aqueous solution) 15.0
(6) Polyglyceryl monolaurate 1.0
(7) Macadamia nut oil fatty acid phytosteryl 3.0
(8) N-lauroyl-L-glutamic acid di (phytosteryl-2-octyldodecyl) 2.0
(9) Hardened palm oil 2.0
(10) Squalane (from olive) 1.0
(11) Behenyl alcohol 0.75
(12) Beeswax 1.0
(13) Jojoba oil 1.0
(14) 1,3-butylene glycol 10.0
(15) L-arginine (10% by weight aqueous solution) 2.0
(16) Malvanickey extract [Production Example 1] 5.0
Production method: The aqueous phase components (1) to (6) are mixed and dissolved by heating at 75 ° C. On the other hand, the oil phase components (7) to (14) are mixed and dissolved by heating at 75 ° C. Next, the oil phase component is added to the aqueous phase component and preliminary emulsification is performed, followed by uniform emulsification with a homomixer. Cooling is started after completion of emulsification, and (15) is added at 50 ° C. Cool further to 40 ° C, add (16) and mix evenly.

[Formulation Example 5] Aqueous gel (1) Carboxyvinyl polymer 0.5 (% by weight)
(2) Purified water 86.7
(3) Sodium hydroxide (10% by weight aqueous solution) 0.5
(4) Ethanol 10.0
(5) Methyl paraoxybenzoate 0.1
(6) Fragrance 0.1
(7) Malvanickey extract [Production Example 4] 2.0
(8) Polyoxyethylene (60E.O.) hydrogenated castor oil 0.1
Manufacturing method: (1) is added to (2), and after stirring uniformly, (3) is added. After stirring uniformly, (5) previously dissolved in (4) is added. After stirring uniformly, the previously mixed (6) to (8) are added and stirred and mixed uniformly.

[Formulation Example 6] Cleansing Fee (1) Squalane 81.0 (wt%)
(2) Polyoxyethylene glyceryl isostearate 15.0
(3) Purified water 3.0
(4) Malvanic extract (Production Example 4) 1.0
Manufacturing method: (1) and (2) are uniformly dissolved. (3) and (4) are sequentially added to this and mixed uniformly.

[Prescription Example 7] Face-wash foam (1) Stearic acid 16.0 (% by weight)
(2) Myristic acid 16.0
(3) Lipophilic glyceryl monostearate 2.0
(4) Glycerin 20.0
(5) Sodium hydroxide 7.5
(6) Palm oil fatty acid amidopropyl betaine 1.0
(7) Purified water 36.5
(8) Malvanic extract (Production Example 3) 1.0
Production method: The oil phase components (1) to (4) are heated and dissolved at 80 ° C. On the other hand, the aqueous phase components (5) to (7) are heated and dissolved at 80 ° C., and mixed and stirred uniformly with the oil phase components. Cooling is started, and (8) is added at 40 ° C. and mixed uniformly.

[Prescription Example 8] Make-up base cream (1) Squalane 10.0 (% by weight)
(2) Cetanol 2.0
(3) Glycerin tri-2-ethylhexanoate 2.5
(4) Lipophilic glyceryl monostearate 1.0
(5) Propylene glycol 11.0
(6) Sucrose fatty acid ester 1.3
(7) Purified water 69.4
(8) Titanium oxide 1.0
(9) Bengala 0.1
(10) Yellow iron oxide 0.4
(11) Fragrance 0.1
(12) Malvanickey extract [Production Example 2] 1.2
Production method: The oil phase components (1) to (4) are mixed and dissolved by heating at 75 ° C. On the other hand, the aqueous phase components (5) to (7) are mixed and dissolved by heating at 75 ° C., and the pigments (8) to (10) are added thereto and dispersed uniformly with a homomixer. The oil phase component is added to the water phase component and emulsified with a homomixer. Cooling is started after the emulsification is completed, and the components (11) and (12) are added at 40 ° C. and mixed uniformly.

[Formulation Example 9] Emulsion foundation (1) Methylpolysiloxane 2.0 (wt%)
(2) Squalane 5.0
(3) Octyldodecyl myristate 5.0
(4) Cetanol 1.0
(5) Polyoxyethylene (20E.O.)
Sorbitan monostearate 1.3
(6) Sorbitan monostearate 0.7
(7) 1,3-butylene glycol 8.0
(8) Xanthan gum 0.1
(9) Methyl paraoxybenzoate 0.1
(10) Purified water 57.4
(11) Titanium oxide 9.0
(12) Talc 7.4
(13) Bengala 0.5
(14) Yellow iron oxide 1.1
(15) Black iron oxide 0.1
(16) Fragrance 0.1
(17) Malvanic extract (Production Example 4) 1.0
Production method: The oil phase components (1) to (6) are mixed and dissolved by heating at 75 ° C. On the other hand, the aqueous phase components (7) to (10) are mixed and dissolved by heating at 75 ° C., and the pigments (11) to (15) are added thereto and uniformly dispersed with a homomixer. Add oil phase ingredients and emulsify. Cooling is started after the emulsification is completed, and components (16) and (17) are sequentially added at 40 ° C. and mixed uniformly.

[Formulation Example 10] Water-in-oil emollient cream (1) Liquid paraffin 30.0 (% by weight)
(2) Microcrystalline wax 2.0
(3) Vaseline 5.0
(4) Diglycerin oleate 5.0
(5) Sodium chloride 1.3
(6) Potassium chloride 0.1
(7) Propylene glycol 3.0
(8) 1,3-butylene glycol 5.0
(9) Methyl paraoxybenzoate 0.1
(10) Malvanickey extract [Production Example 1] 1.0
(11) Purified water 47.4
(12) Fragrance 0.1
Production method: Dissolve (5) and (6) in a part of (11) to 50 ° C., and gradually add to (4) heated to 50 ° C. with stirring. After mixing this, it disperse | distributes uniformly to (1)-(3) heated and melt | dissolved at 70 degreeC. (7) to (10) are added to the remainder of (11) heated and dissolved at 70 ° C. while stirring and emulsified with a homomixer. Cooling is started after completion of emulsification, and (12) is added at 40 ° C. and mixed uniformly.

[Prescription Example 11] Pack (1) Purified water 58.9 (% by weight)
(2) Polyvinyl alcohol 12.0
(3) Ethanol 17.0
(4) Glycerin 5.0
(5) Polyethylene glycol (average molecular weight 1000) 2.0
(6) Malvanickey extract [Production Example 2] 5.0
(7) Fragrance 0.1
Production method: (2) and (3) are mixed, heated to 80 ° C, and then dissolved in (1) heated to 80 ° C. After uniformly dissolving, add (4) and (5), and start cooling while stirring. Cool to 40 ° C, add (6) and (7) and mix uniformly.

[Prescription Example 12] Bath agent (1) Fragrance 0.3 (% by weight)
(2) Malvanickey extract [Production Example 1] 1.0
(3) Sodium bicarbonate 50.0
(4) Sodium sulfate 48.7
Production method: (1) to (4) are mixed uniformly.

[Prescription Example 13] Hair wax (1) Stearic acid 3.0 (% by weight)
(2) Microcrystalline wax 2.0
(3) Cetyl alcohol 3.0
(4) Highly polymerized methylpolysiloxane 2.0
(5) Methylpolysiloxane 5.0
(6) Poly (oxyethylene / oxypropylene)
Methylpolysiloxane copolymer 1.0
(7) Methyl paraoxybenzoate 0.1
(8) 1,3-butylene glycol 7.5
(9) Arginine 0.7
(10) Purified water 73.6
(11) Malvanic extract (Production Example 1) 2.0
(12) Fragrance 0.1
Production method: The oil phase components (1) to (6) are mixed and heated and dissolved at 75 ° C. On the other hand, the aqueous phase components (7) to (10) are dissolved by heating at 75 ° C., the oil phase component is added, and the mixture is emulsified with a homomixer. Cooling is started after the emulsification is completed, and the components (11) and (12) are added at 40 ° C. and mixed uniformly.

[Prescription Example 14] Hair artic (1) Ethanol 50.0 (% by weight)
(2) Purified water 48.9
(3) Malvanic extract (Production Example 3) 1.0
(4) Fragrance 0.1
Production method: Components (1) to (4) are mixed and homogenized.

[Prescription Example 15] Beverage (1) Malvanic extract [Production Example 1] 8.0 (% by weight)
(2) Erythritol 1.0
(3) Citric acid 0.1
(4) Stevia 0.01
(5) Purified water 90.89
Production method: (1) to (5) are mixed uniformly.

  Next, a use test was conducted using a prescription blended with a malvanickey extract, and the effect of improving the rough skin due to drying was evaluated. At that time, the malvanic acid extract described in Table 5 was blended in the emulsion formulation shown in Formulation Example 1, and the use test was conducted as Examples 1-3. Moreover, the use test was simultaneously performed as the comparative example 1 by substituting the malvanic silicate extract with purified water.

  For each sample, 20 female panelists with dry skin in their 30s to 50s whose skin symptom was remarkably recognized were grouped and used blindly for 1 week, and the skin condition before and after use was observed and evaluated. . As an index of skin symptom, rough skin due to dryness was evaluated in three stages of “improved”, “slightly improved”, and “no change”.

From Table 6, in the comparative example use group which does not contain a malvanic extract, improvement was not recognized in 60% or more of panelists, but in the example use group which mix | blended the malvanic extract, 60% or more A clear improvement in rough skin was recognized by the panelists. From this, it was revealed that the malvanic silicate extract has an excellent moisturizing effect.

Claims (1)

A whitening agent characterized by comprising an extract of malvanickey as an active ingredient.