Amazon Flora diversifies personal care lines. (Notes from Latin America).THE RAINFOREST has been a powerful marketing concept for decades, and now, a greater number of specific plants grown there are being featured in cosmetics and health care products, particularly in Brazil, home of the Amazon forest. Capitalizing both on the idea of the natural benefits of forest products and on Brazilian nationalism relative to the Amazon, Natura Cosmeticos of Sao Paulo is one company that is naming products after its rainforest ingredients. Natura Ekos Sabonete Castanha do Para Emoliente, or moisturizing Brazil nut soap, is one such offering. Natura Ekos Shampoo e Condicionador Pitanga, an astringent astringent (əstrĭn`jənt), substance that shrinks body tissues. Astringent medicines cause shrinkage of mucous membranes or exposed tissues and are often used internally to check discharge of serum or mucous secretions in sore throat, shampoo and conditioner based on the Brazilian cherry, is another. With a corporate culture of producing products in harmony with the environment, Natura is promoting these Amazon products internationally. "In Brazil we have more biodiversity than anywhere else in the world, with 22% of all known species found here," said Marcelo Araujo, vice president of business development for the company. To help identify and supply its ingredient needs, Natura purchased Flora Medicinal J. Monteiro da Silva Ltda., of Rio de Janeiro Rio de Janeiro, city, Brazil Rio de Janeiro (rē`ō də zhänā`rō, Port. rē`  thĭ zhənĕē`r , which among
other activities, catalogs the ethnopharmacological uses of native
Brazilian plants.
IFF's Investment Leading suppliers, too, are tapping into the wealth of Brazilian flora. Little more than a year ago, International Flavors and Fragrances International Flavors and Fragrances (IFF) is a major producer of flavors and fragrances with sales of $1.99 billion in 2005. Major competitors include Firmenich, Givaudan, Quest International and Symrise. (IFF) opened a $27 million flavors production facility in Taubate, near Sao Paulo. With a production capacity of 7,600 tons a month, the IFF facility was touted as "the largest and most modern flavors plant in Latin America," by Robert G. Corbett, president of the company's worldwide flavors division. Cultvated or Collected? Among the plants that Natura uses, which are known primarily as Brazilian, and more specifically as Amazon forest species, are several that are either collected or cultivated. The cultivated plants include: * Cupuacu (Theobroma grandiflorum), a plant closely related to the cacao cacao (kəkä`ō, –kā`–), tropical tree (Theobroma cacao) of the family Sterculiaceae (sterculia family), native to South America, where it was first domesticated and was highly prized by the Aztecs. tree. Its pulp is used as a flavoring or as a preservative, with seeds yielding a white fat similar to cocoa butter. In cosmetics, cupuacu absorbs twice as much water as lanolin lanolin, greasy, yellow substance extracted from wool. When purified, it is used as a base for ointments and creams, as a lubricant, and in finishing and preserving leather. It is also a constituent of some varnishes and paints. , and is used as a moisturizer mois·tur·iz·er n. A cosmetic lotion or cream applied to the skin to counter dryness. moisturizer n → crema hidratante moisturizer moist n . * Guarana guarana /gua·ra·na/ (gwah-rah´nah) [Tupi-Guarani] the Brazilian woody vine Paullinia cupana, or a dried paste prepared from its seeds which is used as a stimulant and tonic in folk medicine and for the treatment of headache in , also known as guarna paullinia (P. cupana), is a climbing shrub named after an Amazon tribe. From the pounded seeds, a dried paste is used for astringent and tonic purposes; in soap it is used for its invigorating in·vig·or·ate tr.v. in·vig·or·at·ed, in·vig·or·at·ing, in·vig·or·ates To impart vigor, strength, or vitality to; animate: "A few whiffs of the raw, strong scent of phlox invigorated her" qualities. * Macela do Campo (Magricaria americana) is a mayweed mayweed see anthemis cotula. of the thistle family, whose dried aromatic flower has anti-inflammatory qualities, among others. It is used in shampoo and conditioners. * Maracuja, or passion flower (Passiflora), produces a flavorful fruit used for its waxy waxy (wak´se) 1. composed of or covered by wax. 2. resembling wax, especially denoting some combination of pliability, paleness, and smoothness and luster. acids, which are used in soap scrub formulations, among other products. * Pitanga (Eugenia uniflora), or the Brazilian cherry, is used widely for its vitamins and alpha-hydroxides, particularly in shampoos and conditioners. Collected plants used by Natura include: * Andiroba, also known as the Guiana crabwood (Carapa guianensis), a Brazilian mahogany, yielding oily seeds used by natives for insect bites and commercially for the soap scrubs, stearine and lubricants. * Buriti, known by native Brazilians as the tree of life, is the wine mauritia or murity palm (Mauritia vinifera), the nuts of which are used as a moisturizer in soaps and deodorants. * Castanha do Para, or Brazil nut tree (Bertholletia excelsa), is described as the tallest and most impressive tree in the Amazon forest. Its oils are used in conditioners and soaps. To help assure that these products are harvested in a sustainable, forest-friendly manner, Natura uses the principles of the Forest Stewardship Council The Forest Stewardship Council (FSC) is a non-profit organization based in Bonn, Germany. The Council's stated mission is "to promote environmentally appropriate, socially beneficial and economically viable management of the world's forests". and of the Conservation Agriculture Network to certify its suppliers. CHARLES W THURSTON, based in Willow, New York, is Happi's Latin America correspondent. E-mail: hemispherenews@mindspring. |
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