While we’ll quickly ignore any claim of a new ‘superfood’ (there is no magical food that ‘detoxes’ your body and makes you instantly healthy, pals), magical ingredients in the world of skincare are always pretty exciting. That’s especially true if said ingredient is already in our cupboards. An extract from maple leaves could prevent wrinkles and smooth the skin, says new research.
No, that doesn’t mean that we should be slathering ourselves in the super-sweet syrup we put on our pancakes, but it could mean that in the coming months we’ll see more skincare brands launching maple syrup themed products – think serums with a sugary maple scent, maple masks, and night creams infused with the stuff.
Scientists found that extracts from the leaves of red maple trees could slow the breakdown of elastin in the skin by blocking the activity of elastase. When elastin breaks down, wrinkles occur, so if you can prevent that process you’ll battle the ageing process.
This adds to previous findings that declared that this same extract may be able to protect skin from inflammation and lighten dark spots. ‘You could imagine that these extracts might tighten up human skin like a plant-based Botox, though they would be a topical application, not an injected toxin,’ said Navindra P Seeram, the project’s principal investigator.
‘And the fact that the extracts are derived from trees would be appreciated by consumers who are looking for natural, plant-based ingredients in their skincare products.
‘Native Americans used leaves from red maple trees in their traditional system of medicine, so why should we ignore the leaves?’ The researchers have not created a formulation containing this extract, called GCG, sourced from summer and fall maple leaves and maple sap.
They now plan to find a market for that material to be used in the world of cosmetics. So, as we said, you could be seeing maple leaf and syrup packed products in the coming months. We smell a skincare trend, and it smells sweet.