Leucidal® Liquid Natural Preservative

When I offer a beauty recipe that uses a water phase I always suggest that you store it in the refrigerator and use it up quickly because (until now) I was unable to suggest a natural preservative to inhibit microbial growth in my recipes.  I just purchased some Leucidal® Liquid which is a new, natural preservative from Active Micro Technologies. Here is some information from their website  about  Leucidal® Liquid.

INCI: Leuconostoc/Radish Root Ferment Filtrate
ECOCERT Approved/Whole Foods Acceptable

PropertiesDerived from Leuconostoc kimchii, the bacterium that has traditionally been used to make fermented Kimchi. This product consists of a peptide that is produced by the bacterial culture during the fermentation process which has shown to have antimicrobial benefits. This ferment filtrate provides an effective combination of skin conditioning, moisturizing, and antimicrobial properties.

BackgroundOver the past several decades there has been growing public pressure, increasingly strict chemical regulations, preservative sensitization issues, and the potential for developing microbial resistance to the chemical preservative products typically used in cosmetic and personal care formulations. These factors have resulted in numerous preservation chemicals being pulled from the marketplace, despite being the products of choice at one time. To offer a solution to this preservation paradigm, Active Micro Technologies (AMT) has developed a line of products based on naturally occurring compounds that provide active cosmetic properties, but by their very nature are also capable of providing product preservation. This antimicrobial capability is due to natural mechanisms developed by plants and microorganisms by which they protect themselves from their environment and other competing organisms.

Science: Leucidal® Liquid is based on an antimicrobial peptide originally derived from the lactic acid bacteria, Leuconostoc kimchii. L. kimchii is one of 15 species of microorganisms that make up the mixed culture responsible for producing the Korean dietary staple known as kimchi, a type of fermented cabbage. Like many lactic acid bacteria, L. kimchii is capable of restricting the growth of other microorganisms by acidifying its environment, but as is common in nature, it is not content to limit itself to a single mechanism of defense. In addition to acidifying its environment, it also produces a novel antimicrobial peptide. Using modern fermentation and bioprocessing technology, AMT has commercialized this antimicrobial peptide to produce Leucidal® Liquid.

I encourage you to visit the Active Micro Technologies website for the full Technical Data Sheet for Leucidal® Liquid . You can find it  HERE.

I am very excited to start using Leucidal® Liquid in my creams and lotions.  I like that this natural preservative is GMO free!!  This product can provide protection from E.coli, P. aeruginosa, S. aureus, C. albicans, and A. niger.  

I bought my bottle of  Leucidal® Liquid  from Lotioncrafter®. Stay tuned for new recipes that will include the use of this natural preservative.  Please remember that if you intend to sell any oil and water emulsion products to the public that it is important to have them lab tested for microorganisms no matter which preservative you choose to use.