Preface

Natural biodiversity, such as medicinal plants, microbes, fungi and algae, has been acting as a rich resource of several therapeutic agents used in traditional medicine systems from prehistoric times to cure different kinds of ailments and diseases. These natural resources are the store house of a variety of bioactive secondary metabolites. These secondary metabolites are well-known for their wide range of applications in the food, pharmaceutical, cosmetics and personal care product industries. Owing to the widespread applications of these natural resources, nowadays they are extensively used as a reservoir of bioactive raw materials for personal care products and cosmetics. The concept of beauty or cosmetics is as old as the evolution of mankind. For the purpose of looking beautiful, charming and young, people are using a variety of beauty products. These beauty products include various types of secondary metabolites obtained from herbs, plants, fungi, lichens, microbes, etc. Herbal cosmetics are an invaluable gift of nature and their demand has been growing day-by-day in the world market.

This book presents a comprehensive guide to metabolites obtained from traditional medicinal plants, microbes, fungi, lichens, algae, etc., which are used in the field of cosmetics. The isolation, characterization and authentication of the materials used in cosmeceuticals are very crucial and hence all of the related aspects will be discussed in this book. Lots of debate is occurring regarding the regulatory aspects of the natural products in cosmeceuticals. Therefore, this topic has been discussed as part of a chapter. All of the chapters cover the key components from each resource, such as plants, algae, bacteria and lichens, as well as clay resources, and their extraction, cosmeceutical applications, natural cosmetic formulations, allergic responses, and toxicology. The impact of nanotechnology will be discussed in various cosmetic products, such as skin care and hair care products, etc. This book represents a valuable asset for researchers and graduate students of chemistry, botany, biotechnology, microbiology, cosmetology and the pharmaceutical sciences. This book will make a substantial contribution to the knowledge of people from every field. Also, this book will be very useful to scientists, graduates and undergraduates, along with researchers in the fields of natural products, herbal medicines, ethnobotany, pharmacology, chemistry and biology. Furthermore, it is an equally significant resource for people working in different traditional medicinal systems, including doctors (especially those engaged in Ayurveda and the Chinese traditional medicinal system), the pharmaceutical industry (for cosmetic formulation design), microbiologists, and scientists working in biotechnology and nanoscience.

Deepika Kathuria

Ajay Sharma

Meenakshi Verma

Gulzar Ahmad Nayik