Eco-luxury: Making sustainable drugs and cosmetics with Prosopis cineraria natural extracts

Abstract

Climate change associated with global warming is a major warning of the twenty-first century, threatening ecosystems through uncontrolled temperature rises, drought, lack of water with a strong impact on productivity, economy, and worldwide life well-being. In most cases, the poor regions of the planet suffer from a lack of exploitable resources deriving from natural reserves. For this reason, wild vegetables able to grow in deserted areas are attracting increasing attention due to their beneficial properties. Among them, Prosopis cineraria has been recently recognized in the UAE not only as a cultural heritage but also as a potential source of raw materials for agri-food and pharmaceutics still poorly valued. P. cineraria occurs in most of the world's hot arid and semi-arid regions as a native or introduced species and, due to its multiple properties, could be exploited for medical, food, and, more recently, in different growing productivity fields like a luxury, especially in countries like the UAE. The use of actives-rich natural sources offers clear advantages over synthetic compounds in terms of process and product eco-sustainability. In this manuscript, we review the main properties and potential applications of P. cineraria aiming to promote the scientific interest toward the development of innovative approaches in several productive fields, including pharma and cosmetics, exploiting the versatility of materials that can be extracted from the various parts of the plant and discuss commercialization opportunities of the plant to support biodiversity and sustainability. In conclusion, P. cineraria turns out to be a plant able to grow in hostile environments, already providing nutrients for populations of Western Asia and the Indian subcontinent and possibly translatable to poor arid regions.

Flowers and Inflorescences of Selected Medicinal Plants as a Source of Triterpenoids and Phytosterols

“…Flowers are sources of natural moisturizers, flavorings and pigments, which make them very interesting to enrich modern cosmetic products, particularly skin cosmetic applications [10][11][12]. Flowers have been used in cosmetic products since ancient times, and contemporary consumers' demand for utilizing natural botanical sources in cosmetics has grown substantially in recent years due to fewer side effects, high efficiency and easy availability [13,14].…”

Plant–soil feedback and plant invasion: effect of soil conditioning on native and invasive Prosopis species using the plant functional trait approach

“…Additionally, it is suggested that P. juliflora affects the nearby native species due to its ability to produce allelopathic chemicals that limit the growth of other native species and alter soil nutrients ( El-Keblawy and Abdelfatah, 2014 ; Shackleton et al., 2015 ; Bibi et al., 2023 ). P. juliflora competing with other native species, e.g., Prosopis cineraria (L.) Druce trees, which is one of the species native to Oman and is a valuable species that helps in improving soil nutrients, provides fodder for domestic animals, has a variety of medicinal and cosmetic uses, and is a potential species for biodiesel production ( Pickering and Patzelt, 2008 ; Giustra et al., 2022 ; Patzelt et al., 2022 ). Understanding such interplay between the invasion process and PSF will help in managing this invasive species in Oman.…”

Natural alternatives from your garden for hair care: Revisiting the benefits of tropical herbs

“…Therefore, the market had witnessed significant demand due to the rising consumer preference for products that are scientifically proven to be organic and contain natural ingredients. Additionally, hair shampoos from natural renewable sources are more eco-sustainability, easily availability, and possess bioactivities such as antioxidant, antibacterial, antifungal, anti-inflammatory, and other medicinal properties [ 1 , 2 ]. These brands and products are highly regarded for their product quality, effectiveness, and corporate reputation, and they actively align with the United Nations’ Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs).…”