Novel retinol-like actives from parrots feathers

IFSCC Magazine, 11 (2008) (4) 323–330 Presented as a podium presentation at the 25th IFSCC Congress 2008 in Barcelona, Spain. Several classes of pigments are responsible for coloration in birds. Melanin pigments most commonly appear in bird feathers and bare parts. They impart black, brown and chestnut hues. Carotenoids are a second group of coloring biochemicals in birds. These two types of pigment-based coloration are found in nearly every order of extant birds. In contrast, parrots harbor bright-colored pigments in their feathers, which have different structures. As many colored substances exhibit free-radical scavenging activity and parrots have quite a long lifespan, the aim of our study was to identify the structures of these substances, attempt their synthesis and study their performance and possible use in cosmetics while overcoming stability problems. Studies were also planned to compare their efficacy with that of known anti-aging molecules. We were able to identify a structural moiety that could be the basis for a new family of molecules with high functionality. This example could open up the field of research for new functional molecules derived from animal or vegetal metabolism, which so far have been neglected because of their high instability. Keywords:  Anti-oxidant, octatrienol, photoaging, radical stability, retinol-like