Phyt’anim Grains of Paradise

Grains of paradise: the inflammation solution

A bio-inspired active ingredient

Biomimicry is the practice of learning from and mimicking the strategies found in nature to solve human design challenges. SEQENS Cosmetics Natural Ingredients decided to take inspiration from nature and particularly animals to find new phytomolecules for cosmetic use.
Etho-phytology™ is a new approach based on the observation of animals’ behavior in their environment.

This specific science is called zoopharmacognosy. The scientists observed that from time to time, the gorilla diverges from its regular diet and looks for a special grain from the plant Aframomum melegueta. Aframomum melegueta, also known as “alligator pepper” or “grains of paradise” originated from subtropical Africa where it grows in the lowland rainforest.

SEQENS Cosmetics was interested in a zoopharmacognosy case involving the gorilla. Living in
tropical forests, this big primate’s regular diet consists of mainly plants and sometimes insects.

The scientists observed that from time to time, the gorilla diverges from its regular diet and looks for a special grain from the plant Aframomum melegueta. Aframomum melegueta, also known as “alligator pepper” or “grains of paradise” originated from subtropical Africa where it grows in the lowland rainforest.

A study conducted in 2007 compared captive Western lowland gorillas from the Brookfield Zoo in Chicago and wild gorillas. These captive gorillas are susceptible to a heart condition known as fibrosing cardiomyopathy, which is linked to inflammation of the heart muscle. It was observed that captive gorillas died more frequently from fibrosing cardiomyopathy than the wild ones.

A powerful anti-inflammatory activity

This heart condition is explained by their diet. Indeed, wild gorillas regularly consume the grains of A. melegueta contrary to captive gorillas. It was proven that this plant had powerful anti-inflammatory activity and wild gorillas may be using this plant as a preventive medicine against cardiomyopathy.

This observation led us to develop the first active of our new Etho-phytology™ platform: Phyt’anim™ Grains of Paradise.
Our active comes from the heat extraction of grains of melegueta from the Ivory Coast, concentrated in 6-gingerol and polyphenols. Phyt’anim™ Grains of Paradise is 100% from natural origin, COSMOS certified, China listed, free from preservatives and the plant Aframomum melegueta is DNA tested.

Phyt’anim Grains of Paradise Properties

• Skin barrier booster
• Skin inflamation resolver
• Skin redness reducer