Daily wool dose may help skin look young

A New Zealand company wants people to eat wool to keep skin young-looking.

The farmer-owned biotech company Keratec, based at Lincoln near Christchurch, designs and manufactures keratin-based biomaterials from the wool of selected flocks of New Zealand sheep.

Keratin is a structural protein that is a main constituent in skin, hair and nails, and is normally not soluble.

The company has developed a method of extracting up to 800g of keratin from each 1kg of wool in a soluble, digestible form by separating wool fibres into their constituent parts without destroying the protein.

The company will launch the products this week at an expo in Anaheim, California. One of the products is for rubbing on the skin, and the other is to be taken.

They are expected to help cosmetics companies diversify into the dietary supplement or "nutriceutical" sector and companies already working in dietary supplements move into skin care.

Keratec, effectively owned by 12,000 farmers through Wool Equities, is hoping it can help companies develop anti-ageing solutions, consisting of both a topical and an oral element.

It said that the protein fraction being marketed as Cynergy TK contained copper and zinc, which had roles in promoting healthy skin, and it contained enzymatic antioxidants superoxide dismutase and glutathione-dependent peroxidase, recognised free-radical scavengers.

Keratec says Cynergy can improve skin elasticity, hydration and skin cell antioxidant activity, and the availability of a natural, bioactive, renewable single-product range "changes the game" for beauty products.

The company launched its first dietary supplement containing keratin, Cynatine FLX, using a fraction of the protein with an amino acid profile the company said tests showed had a role in joint health.

Keratec's executive in charge of business development, Fertram Sigurjonsson, said 2006 was an important year for the company, which said last year that it needed $2 million to pursue its strategic plan for the 2005/06 year.

"We are rapidly changing from being a research and development company over to being a marketing company, and this is a crucial year for that transition," he said.

But he said the company was continuing to extract its own keratin at its factory at Lincoln. The intellectual property involved was partly protected because it is "black boxed" - outsiders did not get to see critical parts of the technology.

- NZPA