From ancient potion to modern lotion, nano-technology (state of the art); aspects in, mile stones in technology, an historical

From Ancient Potions To Modern Lotions:
A Technology Overview and Introduction
Topical Delivery Systems
Elishalom Yechiel and Rosemarie L. Coste “From Ancient Potions to Modern Lotions” Table of Contents
Introduction
1.0 Origins of Delivery Systems
1.1 Defining Delivery Systems
1.1.1 What are delivery systems?
1.1.2 What problems are they intended to solve?
1.2 Delivery systems in nature
1.2.1 Reproduction
1.2.2 Infection
1.2.3 Digestion
1.3 Nature-inspired delivery systems technology
1.3.1 Topical Delivery
1.3.2 Injectible Delivery
1.3.3 Oral Delivery
1.3.4 Targeted Delivery
2.0 Origins of Personal Care: When Medicine and Cosmetics Were One
2.1 Ancient Medicine: Unifying Theories and Philosophical Aspects
2.1.1 Medicine: A Divine Gift
2.1.2 Personal Care: A Matter of Life and Death
2.1.3 Preservation: Beauty Above All
2.2 Traditional Medicine: Maintaining Balance
2.2.1 Beauty as Health
2.2.2 Medicine as Meditation
2.2.3 Health as Balance
2.3 “Modern Medicine”: Separation and Reunion of Medicine and Cosmetics
2.3.1 Separate Information
2.3.2 Separate Regulation
2.3.3 Cosmeceuticals: A Trend Toward Reunion
3.0 Foundations of Personal Care Technology
3.1 Technology in ancient formulae
3.1.1 Emulsification
3.1.2 Extraction
3.1.3 Downsizing
4.0 New Technology for Personal Care: Introduction to Delivery Vehicles
4.1 Nanosomes™
4.2 Nano-Emulsion and Dispercicles™
4.3 Nano-Encapsulation
5.0 Conclusions

“From Ancient Potions to Modern Lotions” 6.0 References
7.0 Formulations
7.1 Acne Treatment (Traditional Chinese), Enhanced with Nano-Encapsulation
7.2 Oil of Anointing (Ancient Hebrew), Enhanced with Nano-Emulsion
7.3 Pain Relief Gel (Ayurvedic), Enhanced with Nanosomes™
8.0 Authors’ Biographies and Contact Information
8.1 Rosemarie L. Coste
8.2 Elishalom Yechiel
9.0 Company Information
10.0 Glossary




“From Ancient Potions to Modern Lotions” Introduction

Delivery sytems for drugs and active ingredients, and size-reduction technologies such as microtechnology and nanotechnology, are at the frontier of advances in modern biotechnology.
In particular, developments in trans-dermal delivery systems carry new hope of replacing
current high-risk intravenous applications and drastically reducing undesirable side effects of
drugs and active ingredients. Quite surprisingly, these seemingly- new advances in the state of
the art have natural counterparts and many are inspired by nature. More surprisingly, delivery
systems and miniaturization technologies were practiced in the past, including in ancient
cultures.
This chapter is an overview of some of the ideas and practices that have created and complicated the current status of the field of personal care delivery systems. It provides starting
points for further reading; a lengthy but far from comprehensive list of references is provided,
from what, at first glance, may be a surprising assortment of fields. These include: linguistics,
library science, history, botany, zoology, anthropology, religion, and, of course, chemistry. The
wide range of fields is representative of the significant opportunity to draw on principles of
technology transfer to generate new delivery systems technology. Our goal is to develop a broad
understanding of three key concepts and how they relate to each other: topicals,
miniaturization, and delivery systems. Examining what a delivery system is, at the level of its
most basic components, will make it possible to appreciate current refinements in context. There
are varied interpretations of what is and what is not “personal care” and what is and what is not
“medicine.” We will show that “personal care” is on a continuum with other fields, including
medicine, and all of these rely upon delivery systems to make their formulations effective. The
idea of connecting “effectiveness” to personal care products is problematic, since there are
regulatory requirements restricting claims of effectiveness to the realm of medicine rather than
cosmetics. Some of the origins of and recent responses to this problem will also be discussed.
1.0 Origins of Delivery Systems

Recent technological progress1 has drawn attention to the usefulness of delivery systems in both medical and cosmetic formulations. However, delivery systems are not a new idea.
Examples of delivery systems abound in nature, and in the record of early human technology.
1.1 Defining Delivery Systems

The Oxford English Dictionary2 records an archaic use of “deliver” as an adjective: a person, place, or thing may be described as “deliver” if it is “free of encumbrance; agile, nimble, active.” The word “deliver” derives from the same Latin root as “liberty” and” persists in modern English as a verb. In general usage, this verb relates to transportation, as in the delivery of packages by the postal service. The definitions and synonyms offered in the Oxford English Dictionary, however, are clear reminders that the word is not so much about movement as about freedom. “To deliver” is to save, rescue, set free, release, rid, divest, unload, assist, disburden, speak, surrender, yield, abandon, recite, report, communicate, as well as to transfer. 1.1.1 What are delivery systems?

“From Ancient Potions to Modern Lotions” Delivery cannot be accomplished by a single item in stasis; some change of condition or location is required to enable a person to be delivered from slavery to freedom, or a parcel to be delivered from one mailbox to another, or a drug to be delivered to its target organ. Change is essential, and change can be accomplished in only a few ways. Physical or chemical energy must be applied, and that energy must have a source. The combination of the material to be changed, and the material or method creating the change, comprises a simple system. More complex combinations may define larger systems and produce more complex changes. This is especially true when new techniques of micro- and nano-technology are employed. 1.1.2 What problems are delivery systems intended to solve?

In the context of personal care, delivery systems are most often implemented to overcome barriers3 such as the outer layers of the skin; we will name such delivery systems “intra-dermal
vehicles.” In topical medicinals, we can define trans-dermal vehicles, where a drug must
penetrate through the skin, and even the membrane surrounding a cell, or be transferred to the
blood stream and internal organs. A material may exist on one side of a barrier but be useful only
on the other side of the barrier and that material, due to its size or other features of its chemical
structure, is unable to cross the barrier, for example, Vitamin A, which is an oil-soluble
molecule, cannot penetrate the skin. Another material may be able to penetrate the barrier but
unable to accomplish anything useful once it does so. For example, liposomes, and particularly
small liposomes which are amphipathic, are able to penetrate into skin. (For more information on
liposomes’ structure and function, see Chapter 14 in this book). Properly combining two
materials such as by encapsulating vitamin A, the useful material, into liposomes, the barrier-
crossing vehicle, creates a system capable of delivering beneficial material to the previously-
inaccessible location protected by the barrier. As in the examples mentioned above, Vitamin A
can be transported by a liposome into the skin. New methods of creating such combinations, and
new information about the properties of materials when combined, are at the root of new
developments in personal care and in drug delivery systems.
1.2 Delivery systems in nature

The need to move material from one location to another, perhaps changing its form as well as its location to make it useful, is solved in varied ways in nature. The digestive process takes in bulk raw material and reduces it to usable nutrients by breaking down complex materials into small particles or into singular molecules. This process is called miniaturization or micronizing. It combines the molecules with bile salts. This combination of oil-soluble molecules with bile salts is emulsification, emulsions being effective delivery vehicles. The emulsified naterials are then transported to the body via the intestinal wall, to be used as nutrients. There are counterpart topical delivery systems which are based on downsizing, loading onto vehicles, and transport through the skin. The reproductive process combines simple materials into the beginnings of a complex new organism and is largely dependent on mediation and translocation of materials to an effective proximity (see more about “proximity” in Chapter 14 in this book). In the process of infection, tiny organisms are carried in or on the bodies of larger organisms, to destinations in or on larger organisms, and are mechanically transported by puncturing the skin, just as injections are performed with syringes. Not surprisingly, some of the delivery systems technology “From Ancient Potions to Modern Lotions” developed by humans are very similar in structure and function to the delivery systems developed by natural organisms. 1.2.1 Reproduction

All forms of sexual reproduction depend upon delivery systems. For aquatic invertebrates and some fish, that delivery system is the water in which they live. For these creatures, reproductive material is released into the water, and the water carries it into the proximity of other reproductive material with which it can combine. There is not much targeting (for more information about targeting see Chapter 14 in this book) and the method of fertilization is based on excess material, which may initially appear to be waste but is necessary for reproductive success, as explained below. Wind-pollinated grasses use the air the same way and rely upon air currents to circulate reproductive material among immobile individuals. Such systems are only successful because vastly more reproductive material is produced and released into the air or water than ever reaches another fertile individual of the same species; most of the material is wasted, lost in transit, but excess production improves the odds of some of the material reaching its target. This is similar to treating a headache by a medicine that spreads all over the body, including areas that are not in pain. Other plants, such as dandelions, use the air to carry ripe seeds to distant locations. Following such transport, these seeds can sprout without competing with the parent plant. Coconuts use the tide and burrs use the fur of passing animals in the same way, to carry their seeds from one location to another. Pollination mediated by an animal such as a bee, bird, or bat, is an example of much more complex and and targeted natural delivery system. Understanding this process provides a useful
model for understanding the technological delivery systems that will be explained later in this
chapter. With the animal acting as the delivery vehicle, the delivery process can only succeed if
the flower’s pollen-bearing anther is the right shape to deposit pollen on the animal. The pollen-
receiving stigma must also be the right shape to collect that pollen from the animal, and the
animal must be the right size to reach them both. If the flower’s parts are too large or small or
otherwise inaccessible or unattractive, delivery will fail4. Similarly, technological delivery
systems, no matter how advanced their construction, are only successful when the delivery
vehicle, the material to be delivered, and the source and target of the material are carefully
matched. Problems with size and shape and orientation at the proximity of the site of action can
prevent a liposome, as surely as they can prevent a honeybee, from acting as an effective
delivery vehicle3.
1.2.2 Infection

A delivery system moves material to a location where it can be used. In the case of insect- vectored infection, the highly mobile insect carries a pathogenic organism to a suitable plant or animal host. The pathogen is most often a virus but possibly a bacterium or fungus or nematode. Since “most pathogens are relatively immobile in their own right, part of the vector's role in disease transmission is to deliver the pathogen to the appropriate part of the host's tissue from where the pathogen can continue its life cycle”5. The best known insect vectors of human disease pathogens, such as mosquitoes carrying malaria or fleas carrying bubonic plague, accomplish the delivery by means of injection. They use their mouthparts to puncture the epidermis and deliver the pathogen into the circulatory system. The circulatory system then “From Ancient Potions to Modern Lotions” delivers the pathogen to the appropriate internal organ. However, topical delivery of disease pathogens is also possible. Cockroaches, for instance, spread pathogens simply by walking, regurgitating, or excreting. If those pathogens end up infecting a host’s digestive system, it is because that host completed the delivery process by ingesting the roach-delivered pathogens from the contaminated surface5. 1.2.3 Digestion

Digestion “transforms food into energy, nutrients and waste products, all of which are sent to appropriate parts of the body for dispersal and disposal”6. These transformation and
transportation processes rely on the downsizing of large material into usable particles.
Transformation, especially downsizing, is accomplished by mechanical methods such as
chewing, and by chemical interactions between the food material, hydrochloric acid and enzymes
in the digestive system. Eventually, food particles are small enough to be absorbed, with
absorption enhanced as much of the digested material is emulsified with bile salts and fatty acid
salts, breakdown products of triglicerides, and put to use. Transportation of food materials also
requires mechanical operations such as swallowing and peristalsis before they are in the right
place and of the right size to move from the digestive system to the circulatory system. After
successfully making this passage, they are able to provide fuel for the rest of the body. The
process of releasing the energy stored in raw material so that it can provide energy to a living
organism is one of the most complex examples of a natural delivery system.
1.3 Nature-inspired delivery systems technology
1.3.1 Topical Delivery

Many mammals find ways to cool, soothe, and protect their skin by using natural substances. For example, large mammals with relatively thin coats of hair, such as elephants,
hippopotami, and pigs, cover themselves in mud in order to protect themselves from heat and
insects, and perhaps, to heal injuries and diseases. Humans also exhibit similar behavior Some
spend large sums of money to purchase clay facial treatments or have themselves covered in
mineral- rich mud in spas or at resorts such as the Dead Sea in order to obtain beneficial effects
on their health and well-being. Substantial success has been recorded in treating skin diseases
such as psoriasis and vitiligo, as well as rheumatism symptoms, with Dead Sea water and mud7,8.
The effectiveness of such treatments may be because the minerals in mud increase hydration and
remove impurities from the skin. In these cases the mud is operating as a simple delivery system,
moving water, minerals, and sometimes, organic material into the skin and taking waste products
away. The mudpack is an example of a slow release system. A slow release system is a form of
encapsulation of beneficial ingredients, slowly diffusing from the center of a capsule, such as
the mudpack, into the skin.
1.3.2 Injectible Delivery

Sharply-pointed insect stingers and mouthparts are perfect natural models of the process of injection. By this means, material is moved into and sometimes moved out of a target. Their “From Ancient Potions to Modern Lotions” operation obviously resembles that of modern syringes used to insert drugs into or remove blood from the circulatory system5. 1.3.3 Oral Delivery

Encapsulation in an oral delivery system is demonstrated by edible berries. The outer coating, colorful and tasty, is attractive to the vehicle, a bird, which consumes the entire berry. In this process the bird removes the coating by digesting it as food, carries it some distance away from its parent plant, and deposits the indigestible seed, stripped of its coating, along with some fertilizer, so that it is ready to sprout4. In medicine, encapsulation is required to protect a drug from harm and/or to protect the organism from the drug until it reaches its target organ, where it must be de-capsulated in order to become active. Tablets are often coated in such a way as to protect the contents from digestion until it reaches the appropriate part of the digestive system. The capsule coating can be acid-resistant, so it is protected in the stomach, or base-resistant, so it is protected in the duodenum, or it can be resistant to both acid and base and only degradable by microorganisms in the intestines. On a much smaller scale, material in liquid form can be micro-encapsulated and nano-encapsulated to protect it until it reaches its target. 1.3.4 Targeted Delivery

Many home gardening enthusiasts are able to make general observations relating a flower’s form to the characteristics of the flower’s major pollinator. Such knowledge helps a gardener select flowers based on which pollinating animals are desired in the landscape. Hummingbird-pollinated flowers tend to be thin and tubular, hanging at an angle comfortably visited by hovering birds, which collect sticky pollen on their beaks. Butterfly-pollinated flowers are often open and plate- like, allowing butterflies to rest and walk on their surfaces while they eat, collecting pollen on their feet and mouths. Bat-pollinated flowers open in the evening and are large, open, and hairy, dusting visitors’ fur with pollen. Bee-pollinated flowers tend to be round and deep, with bees often required to walk some distance into a tunnel to collect nectar and pollen. Botanists have confirmed these general observations and added detailed understanding to the mutualistic relationship between plant and pollinator. For example, study of the hummingbird-dependent bromeliad Aechmea pectinata in Brazil confirms that, although many varieties of hummingbirds, with many lengths and shapes and angles of beaks, are available in its habitat, the size, shape, and angle of its blossoms conforms to the straight, sharp beak of its primary pollinator Thalurania glaucopis9. Because Thalurania is highly territorial, and Aechmea grows in dense groups of related individuals, each carrying numerous clusters of flowers designed to deposit pollen on a beak shaped exactly like Thalurania’s, the hummingbird is likely to feed within its territory and thereby transport pollen only among Aechmea flowers. This is an example of a highly specific and highly-targeted delivery system existing in nature, demonstrating the necessity of proper shape, affinity, and targeting for effective delivery. Shape- matching is a mechanical form of targeting which determines whether it is even possible for the interaction between the vehicle (bird) and the active (pollen) to take place. When the size and stucture of the vehicle perfectly matches the size and shape of the target so that other vehicles may not be able to interact with the active at that target. Just as a bird and flower may “From Ancient Potions to Modern Lotions” interact most effectively with each other, so a vehicle will lock into only the active with which it has a “key and lock” relationship. Just as an animal prefers a specific flower to others, while other animals may be uninterested or may dislike the aroma or the taste of the flower, so is affinity between vehicle and active. When there is high chemical affinity, the vehicle and the active will lock on each other preferentially over interactions with other molecules. This is very efficient delivery system in nature and in medicine since the rate of success of pollination just as the rate of interaction between vehicle and active is very high. In such a situation, very low quantities of vehicle and active can be effective. In drug or active delivery sytems, such efficient delivery is the greatest challenge. For example, a liposome containing a drug for a specific cell type in a specific organ is embedded with antibodies to antigens that are expressed only in that cell type from only that organ and only by those cells that are afflicted with the disease to be cured. When within proximity of the site of action, there are “key and lock” type targeting problems to be solved in order for a vehicle, such as a liposome, to release the active directly into the site of action with minimal waste. The active must reach every cell and be released in a way that it be in contact with only those cells, and all those cells. For more information on proximity- related targeting, see Chapter 14. 2.0 Origins of Personal Care: When Medicine and Cosmetics Were One

Delivery systems exist in nature and in human technology that mimics nature. It should not be surprising, therefore, to find such systems in “natural remedies” from many sources. The belief that personal care (cosmetics) is an undertaking separate from health care (medicine) has not been widely held in human cultures. In some ancient traditions, well-documented but no longer practiced, perfumery and medicine were both seen as divinely given and were both regulated as sacred activities. In some currently-practiced traditions with ancient roots, health practices depend on maintaining beauty and harmony among many internal and external elements. In these traditions, not only body and mind must be kept in balance, but relations between the person and the environment must also be harmonized. In more recently established Western, and especially American, practices, treatment of disease is seen as necessarily separate from the creation of personal or environmental beauty; however, current trends toward educating new physicians in the basics of “alternative medicine,” as well as the growing interest among personal care practitioners and consumers in “functional cosmetics,” suggest that this sense of separation is weakening. 2.1 Ancient Medicine: Unifying Theories and Philosophical Aspects

Divinely-attributed formulae for medicine and perfume are provided in some of the oldest texts available from the region now called the Middle East. These include the Sumerian tale of Emmeduranki, the Hebrew Exodus story, and the Egyptian Book of the Dead. What these traditions from neighboring peoples have in common is a deep concern with respect for proper formulation and an insistence on regulating uses that would now be called medical or cosmetic. Health and beauty were affairs of the highest importance in these cultures, and related activities were described in their time as elements of religion. Perhaps the modern necessity to scrupulously abide by FDA regulations, lest disaster befall, comes close to the ancient determination to follow divine instructions about the creation and use of these materials. “From Ancient Potions to Modern Lotions” 2.1.1 Medicine: A Divine Gift

A Sumerian tale of one human’s encounter with friendly gods10 recounts two gifts the gods gave their new friend. First, they “showed him how to observe oil on water—a secret of Anu, Enlil, and Ea.” The combination of oil and water is an emulsion. Emulsification is central to the formulation of both medicines and cosmetics, with the emulsion serving as a basic delivery system1. The second divine gift, perhaps the necessary companion to the first, was that “They taught him how to make calculations with numbers.” Knowledge of mathematics, along with knowledge of emulsification, makes possible the complex formulations necessary for the “first pharmacoepia” recorded on a clay tablet in Sumer more than four thousand years ago11. 2.1.2 Personal Care: A Matter of Life and Death
“Cleanliness is next to godliness” is an old, overused expression. Perhaps its origin is found in this section of the Book of Exodus, which describes procedures for making and operating the Tabernacle that would travel with the People of Israel: “When they come into the Tent of Appointment they are to wash with water so that they do not die, or when they approach the slaughter-site, to be-in-attendance, to send up fire-offerings in smoke […], they are to wash their hands and their feet, so that they do not die. It is to be for them a law for the ages, for him and for his sons, throughout their generations” (Exodus 30:20-2112). The simplest personal care procedure, that of washing hands and feet with water, thus becomes an urgent and permanent command, divinely imposed. The Exodus narrative proceeds, from instructions on personal washing, to instructions about the making and use of perfumed oil. After a list of ingredients (included among the formulations below), the commandment is issued to “make (from) it anointing oil of holiness, perfume from the perfume-mixture, of perfumer’s making; anointing oil of holiness it is to be” (Exodus 30:23-2512) and to strictly limit its use. This oil is to be used on the Tabernacle and its contents, including the priests, but “On any (other) human body it is not to be poured out; in its (exact) proportion, you are not to make any like it— holiness is it, holiness it shall remain for you. Any man who mixes-perfumes like it or who puts any of it on an outsider is to be cut off from his kinspeople!” (Exodus 30:32-3312). “From Ancient Potions to Modern Lotions” Ingredients for “smoking- incense, perfume, of perfumer’s making” follow: “fragrant- spices, drop- gum, onycha, and galbanum, (these) fragrances and clear incense; part equaling part”; like the oil, it is forbidden to create this incense for ordinary purposes: “you are not to make any for yourselves in its (exact) proportion; holiness shall it be for you, […]. Any man that make any like it to savor it is to be cut off from his kinspeople!” (Exodus 30:34-3812). It is clear from these prohibitions that there was a pre-existing practice of perfumery, making oils and incense for personal use and enjoyment. So long as such products did not follow the exact formulae of the holy oil and incense, they were permitted. Very strong wine13, which had a high alcohol content, was used with the preparation of fragrances, and the grinding process was aimed at grinding the spice particles as finely as
possible14. The chief of the formulators was required to chant “downsize them finer, grind
downsize them finer” because, as it was said, the sound waves are good for the process.
According to Maimonides15, each spice was ground separately, and while immersed in very
strong wine. The special sound waves of the notes chanted were considered to allow better
extraction than the much stronger sound of the pestle hitting the mortar, even if that pestle had a
bell added to soften its sound. Sonic- mediated extraction is today a state-of-the-art technology,
allowing improved penetration of the extracting solvents into the powdered substance to be
extracted. Choice of suitable sound waves to maximize the extraction is, amazingly, an issue
elaborated upon and argued in depth about an extraction process practiced in the Temple in
Jerusalem more than 2,000 years ago.
2.1.3 Preservation: Beauty Above All

In ancient Egypt there were active practitioners of both cosmetics and medicine. Practitioners of both of these arts were considered to be high-status professionals. One physician, Imhotep, was honored with deification as the god of medicine, the only commoner to have achieved such an honor16. Although medical practitioners were admired, their skill was seen as transitory since it was of no use after death. Medicine could keep the body alive, but could not give access to the afterlife. Cosmetics, rather than medicine, was of lasting importance since only the outward appearance was believed to survive. By sustaining the body’s appearance of life, cosmetics made the afterlife possible. Ancient Egyptians believed that “eternal life” after death was possible only so long as the body remained intact. Their efforts to prevent the natural process of decomposition led to development of a complex burial process, including mummification, and the construction of pyramids and other elaborate tombs16. Preserving the body meant maintaining its normal appearance by preserving the visible portions of the body. Skin, muscle, and bone contribute to appearance and so were preserved. The brain and internal organs, considered rapidly-decaying waste matter, were removed. Their places were filled with resins, sawdust, and linen to preserve appearance by restoring the empty body cavity to its normal shape. After the mummy was wrapped, final steps were taken to help the spirit recognize its body. A cosmetician painted the lips, eyes, cheeks, nails, palms, and soles, and the body was fitted with a wig, all in the interest of “From Ancient Potions to Modern Lotions” accurately representing the deceased person’s living appearance. The body was provided with the necessary supplies for the afterlife, including cosmetics, lotions, oils, wigs, razors, and mirrors. It was believed that, should any supplies be depleted, the soul would be sustained by the image of those items painted on the walls of the tomb. 2.2 Traditional Medicine: Maintaining Balance

In Native American, Hindu, Chinese, and possibly many other living traditions, treatment of physical ailments is inseparable from treatment of spiritual, mental, and environmental imbalances. The current excitement over the new concept of the “cosmeceutical”, describing cosmetic materials with activity beyond that of simply improving appearance17, would be amazing in any of these traditions, since they contain no expectation of a separation between “personal care” and “health care.” The Western definition of medicine has narrowed over time. It has separated itself from fields of study and treatment dealing with aspects of the body that are too external (appearance being “merely cosmetic”, as if there were no likely connection between being healthy and looking healthy) or too internal (happiness being “just a state of mind”, as if the mind and body did not influence each other). Habitual linguistic markers such as the above “just” and “mere” serve to minimize the terms they commonly accompany and provide a strong sign of the social status of those terms. Drugs are not referred to as “merely medical,” even when they have some effect on disease but no effect on appearance. This insistence on medicine as separate from, and superior to, all other fields has not been the majority opinion throughout human history. Perhaps current interest in “complementary” or “alternative” or “traditional” health practices signals a growing recognition of the difficulty of sustaining such a position. 2.2.1 Beauty as Health

In the Navajo tradition, for example, good health is one aspect of hozho, a life of beauty and harmony. When beauty and therefore health is lost, healing practices are undertaken to “again achieve harmony, order, to again establish beauty and remove ugliness”18. It is essential that the healing practice itself be beautiful if it is to be effective in restoring beauty. Carefully-created sand paintings, sounds, and aromas are all necessary to establish an environment in which health can be supported. Clearly a distinction between the cosmetic, dealing with beauty, and the medical, dealing with health, is not useful in this tradition. 2.2.2 Medicine and Meditation

English is an Indo-European language19. It shares the roots of its vocabulary and structure with Sanskrit. The Vedas, Hindu sacred texts written in Sanskrit and detail, among other things, healing practices and medicinal formulations. As Fields points out in Religious Therapeutics20, the family of words derived from the Indo-European root med, “to take appropriate measures”, demonstrates that the English words “medicine” (by way of the Latin mederi, “to take care of”) and “meditation” (from Latin meditari, “to think about”) originally described complementary rather than competing projects in the roots of English-speaking Western tradition. “From Ancient Potions to Modern Lotions” The complementarity between action and thought remains central to Ayurvedic medicine. Ayurveda originated in ancient India and assumes that mind and body are integrated. It focuses on supporting the body’s ability to maintain its own balance through the five elements of earth, water, fire, air, and ether. These elements are seen as combining and interacting into the three doshas. An individual’s levels of each dosha determines that person’s predilections for health problems caused by imbalance21. Health problems associated with each dosha are both physical and emotional. For example, people who are of the Pitta dosha are likely to experience problems with allergies and indigestion, and to become jealous and obsessive/compulsive when unbalanced. Treatment for these conditions usually begins with detoxification, followed by formulations of herbs and minerals to restore balance. This traditional way of addressing health issues is surprisingly similar to the modern possibilities created by using liposomes as carriers to correct imbalances in cell membrane structures by delivering beneficial materials and removing harmful ones3. 2.2.3 Health as Balance

Chinese and Ayurvedic medicine are said to be originally related20. The philosophical center and practical goal of traditional Chinese medicine is to create and maintain balance among the many forces in the body: yin and yang, the chi, and the five elements (wood, fire, earth, metal and water), must all be kept in equilibrium if the body is to be healthy. Poor health is seen as the result, not the cause, of imbalance22. Practitioners of traditional Chinese medicine generally provide simultaneous internal and external treatments to their patients. The sample acne treatment formulations included below, selected and adapted from the options in Liang’s A Handbook of Traditional Chinese Dermatology23, demonstrates an effort to correct internal and external imbalances simultaneously, by correcting the cause of acne, said to be an excess of heat in the lung, spleen, and stomach. 2.4 “Modern Medicine”: Separation and Reunion of Medicine and Cosmetics

It is difficult to put a label on “the way most people here do most things now” without committing at least the crime of “presentism”24, suggesting that every idea from a different time or place is in some way inadequate. As the preceding sections demonstrate, that is not at all the project of this chapter. Labels such as “modern,” “Western,” “orthodox”, “allopathic,” “biomedical,” and “scientific” are all used in the literature to describe current, mainstream practices, as opposed to the labeling of other practices as “ancient,” “Eastern,” “alternative,” “naturopathic,” “traditional,” “complementary,” and “folk.” Whatever labels are used to name the differences between these systems, it is important to identify and account for those differences. We assert that the central difference may be one of regulation. While both “modern” and “traditional” systems rely on age-old collections of lore about appropriate treatment and formulation techniques, “modern” practitioners are regulated by governmental bodies, rather than by the expectations of religious leaders, professional peers, or consumers. This means such individuals must operate under externally-provided definitions of what is and what is not acceptable as an ingredient, a practice, or claim. In the United States, the primary sources of Federal authority over cosmetic claims are the Federal Food, Drug, and Cosmetic Act (enforced by the Food and Drug Administration in the Department of Health), the Fair Packaging and Labeling Act, and the Federal Trade Commission Act (both enforced by the “From Ancient Potions to Modern Lotions” Federal Trade Commission). A Memorandum of Understanding, issued in 1954, regulates interaction between the FTC and the FDA25. 2.3.1 Separate Information

In modern times, the movement to separate medicine from all other practices can be tracked to a great extent by observing changes in the publication of medical information. The United States Pharmacopoeia (USP) was first published in 1820. It offered standardized names, descriptions, and standards of purity for medicinal substances. The USP omitted much information about medicinal plants and other commonly- used materials. These deficiencies were addressed in the Dispensatory of the United States (USD), first published in 1833. The USD was used, and strongly favored over the USP by pharmacists for its focus on practicality, until USD publication ceased in 1973 as “compounding moved away from the physician, out of the community pharmacy, and into a mass production and industrial manufacturing setting”26. As the practice of custom- formulating materials became rare, so did information about how and why to engage in that practice. Currently, the USP and the National Formulary are published annually in a combined form as the USP-NF. It provides physicians with a single, centrally-controlled source of information about what materials may be used and how they may be combined or, more realistically, how they have already been combined at a drug factory. In Grieve’s 1931 A Modern Herbal27, the Editor notes that “[b]otany and medicine came down the ages hand in hand until the seventeenth century; then both arts became scientific, their ways parted, and no new herbals were compiled. The botanical books ignored the medicinal properties of plants and the medical books contained no plant lore”28. Other fields separated from medicine in Western tradition even earlier. Philosophy, religion, chemistry, and cosmetics, like botany and pharmacy, are now studied, practiced, and regulated separately from medicine. One result of this separation is that basic information in one field is effectively hidden from practitioners of another. Perhaps this secrecy began long ago as a way of ensuring job security. It controlled and protected the secrets of healing as a means of earning a livelihood, so that no one outside the family or guild could become a competitor29. There is no shortage of speculation as to more sinister reasons for compartmentalizing and centrally controlling access to knowledge and therefore power24. 2.3.2 Separate Regulation

The 1938 Food and Drug Cosmetic Act created separate legal definitions for cosmetics and drugs. It remains at the basis of the expectation, especially in the United States, that a material may be either a cosmetic or a medicine but not both30. The Act describes a cosmetic as “(1) articles intended to be rubbed, poured, sprinkled, or sprayed on, introduced into, or otherwise applied to the human body or any part thereof for cleansing, beautifying, promoting attractiveness, or altering the appearance, and (2) articles intended for use as a component of any such articles; except that such term shall not include soap”25. The problem has become the word “for,” as in “for cleansing…”; that “for” has been interpreted as “only for”. Material that is useful for the listed cosmetic purposes and for additional purposes, such as healing, cannot be considered a cosmetic and therefore must be considered a drug, Thus, its use must be controlled by health care practitioners, such as physicians, rather than personal care practitioners, such as massage therapists. Materials that are perceived as exclusively of interest as drugs or cosmetics, “From Ancient Potions to Modern Lotions” but not both, are not problematic under this legally-based dichotomy. The growing interest in
“active cosmetics”31,32 creates a lengthening list of substances claimed by practitioners on both
sides of the divide. Currently, if a material may be used as a cosmetic or a drug then it must be
considered a drug. Insistence that personal care products can be effective as health care products
has the legal effect of limiting, rather than expanding, their use.
2.4.1 Cosmeceuticals: A Trend Toward Reunion

Although practitioners of Western allopathic medicine must operate in an environment in which “personal care” and “health care” are legally separated, they must also treat a growing population of consumers who are knowledgeable participants in more holistic traditions such as those discussed above. The strict definition of medicine becomes blurred under such circumstances. Recent studies of practitioners and students show increasing interaction between practitioners of Western and complementary or alternative medicine, growing consumer expectation that nurses and pharmacists can make recommendations reconciling multiple traditions, and frequent consumer attempts to combine, appropriately or not33,34, therapies from traditional and biomedical sources. The list of references at the end of this chapter identifies some very recent studies on relationships between biomedical and alternative practices and practitioners35-45; many more such studies are available in the literature, including Ernst’s Plural Medicine, Tradition and Modernity, 1800-200030. Proposals for an “integrative medicine” approach to training medical students to identify and use the best available therapy from a variety of traditions, are strong signs that the separation of medicine from all other practices will not long continue46. 3.0 Foundations of Personal Care Technology
3.1 Technology in ancient formulae

The basic technology used to create modern personal care products is very old. Ancient texts and archeological finds demonstrate that, in fundamental ways, not much has changed. Many of the ingredients, procedures, and final products remain highly recognizable, as shown in this brief examination of ancient emulsification, extraction, and downsizing practices that strongly resemble current delivery systems technologies. 3.1.1 Emulsification

A Sumerian clay tablet containing more than a dozen remedies includes instructions on formulating botanical, zoological, and mineralogical materials into salves and filtrates to be applied externally and liquids to be taken internally. It gives some detailed insight into early techniques for combining oil and water11. Compounding of a salve usually required three steps: pulverizing one or more samples of plant, animal, or mineral material; infusing the powder with wine; spreading cedar oil and other tree oil over the mixture. Downsizing particles by grinding can reduce particle size into the micron and even the submicron range. Tree oils, such as cedar and pine, are powerful solvents. Mixing pulverized particles with oil and wine will amount to organic extraction of the finely-ground ingredients mediated with alcohol to enhance penetration into the particles and thereby enhance the extraction. Another Sumerian formula used powdered “From Ancient Potions to Modern Lotions” river clay, kneaded it in water and honey as a means of water extraction, and covered it with “sea
oil.” Cooking oils with alkaline soda ash provided a detergent that helped emulsify the oil- and
water-soluble ingredients and provide the first known potent vehicle for transdermal
transportation of materials via topical application. Additional instructions in the Sumerian text
show familiarity with processes of filtration, decoction, and purification.
3.1.2 Extraction

All delivery systems, natural and technological, exist to solve one basic problem: the movement of materials to a location and condition in which they can be useful. Whole plants, for example, often contain substances that can be used by the human body, but not in their original form. Those substances can be used only if they can be extracted from the plants and moved into the body. The very simple technology of adding herbs to heated water facilitates the movement of beneficial materials into the body. In an herbal bath, warm water opens pores so that chemicals found in plants can be absorbed through the skin. Steam makes it possible for volatile oils to be inhaled through the nose and mouth and into the lungs. Once inhaled, these materials are absorbed into the bloodstream for further transport and, via the nerve receptors in the nose, perhaps as a message to the brain47. Lavender, native to mountainous areas around the Mediterranean (its name derived from the Latin lavare, “to wash”) has been used in this way since classical times. Dried lavender flowers contain up to three per cent volatile oil. The chief constituents of lavender oil are linalool and its acetic ester, linalyl acetate, as well as cineol, pinene, limonene, geraniol, borneol, and tannins. A second ester, linalyl butyrate, is also present27, as are coumarins, flavenoids, and triterpenoids47. External application of essential oil distilled from lavender has traditionally been employed as an antiseptic and a remedy for a variety of ailments, including nervousness, insomnia, fatigue, toothache, migraines, sprains, and rheumatism. Such benefits accrue from material delivered from the plant to the human body by inhalation or topically. 3.1.3 Downsizing

Reducing the size of a material to make it usable is a most ancient and basic technological process. Even such a simple procedure as cutting wood to fuel a cooking fire demonstrates the necessity of downsizing. Small strips of kindling catch fire much more easily, and are much more practical to carry home, than a giant tree trunk. Similarly, slicing meat and vegetables into small pieces enables them to cook more rapidly, and absorb seasonings more thoroughly, than would be possible if an entire organism were cooked at once. The smaller the particle the larger its surface-per-volume is, achieving faster and more efficient interaction with the environment at the site of action. Archeological discoveries of early human handtools for cutting, chopping and grinding show that human beings have been creating and improving downsizing technology for almost our entire existence. Technological progress of early humans is tracked to a large degree by observing continued refinements of axes, knives, and other downsizing tools. Similarly, current technological breakthroughs have centered on progress in miniaturization in many fields, including personal care formulation. Physical studies of Egyptian cosmetics from as long ago as 2060 BCE show that the grinding technology used to produce colored eye cosmetics from mineral ores produced results very “From Ancient Potions to Modern Lotions” similar to those produced by grinding the same minerals in the modern laboratory. It is as yet unclear what roles moisture and heat played in the Egyptian formulating process and whether room-temperature storage for millennia may have caused any changes48. These ancient cosmetic powders are based on black galena (PbS), as eye cosmetics homemade in the region continue to be. White lead compounds are added to change the color (PbCO3, cerrusite) and to prevent infection (PbOHCl, laurionite, and PB2Cl2CO3, phosgenite). The nanotechnology discussed in the next section continues the downsizing project by making nanometer-range particles, the smallest yet, possible. By enabling new uses and combinations, nanotechnology does more than simply continue the effort to produce smaller and smaller particles. 4.0 New Technology for Personal Care: An Introduction to Delivery Vehicles

In their 1999 Novel Cosmetic Delivery Systems, Magdassi and Touitou mention liposomes and microemulsions as having been “only recently introduced in the development of cosmetic products”1. Five years later, at the present writing in 2004, liposomes and microemulsions are gaining popularity in topical formulations, though they are still far from being completely exploited. The newest breakthrough developments are found at a smaller, nanometer, scale, as demonstrated by Nanosomes™, nano-emulsions, and nano-encapsulation. 4.1 Nanosomes™

Nanosome™ (s) (nano- liposomes) is our trademark name for very small liposomes in the low nanometer size range. Nanosomes™ can act as both encapsulation and delivery systems. The Elsom Research website includes some ilustrated information about anti-aging effects of Nanosomes™, at For more information on Nanosomes™, see Chapter 14. 4.2 Nano-Emulsions and Dispersicles™

Dispersicle™(s) is our trademark name for emulsion and emulsion- like particles in the low nanometer size range. Nano-emulsion creates a large surface-to-volume ratio for emulsion particles that contact skin, so more active ingredients contact the skin at the surface-to-surface interaction between the emulsion and the the skin. Small emulsion particulates will not clog the pores and will allow air and water flow between them. Curvature definitions of small emulsion surface components can effect emulsion potency and interaction characteristics with skin. Information about the usefulness of combining nano-emulsion and liposome technology (double emulsion technology) is available at the Elsom Research website, at For more information on nano-emulsion and Dispersicles™, see Chapter 14. 4.3 Nano-Encapsulation

Nano-encapulation is encapsulating ingredients into capsules in the low nanometer size range, including encapsulation in Nanosomes™. Nano-encapsulation can operate on as small a scale as encapsulating an individual molecule within another individual molecule. Nano- “From Ancient Potions to Modern Lotions” encapsulation of actives can improve their function, increase the range of their activity, reduce the concentration required for effectiveness, increase shelf life, reduce color and odor of actives, protect the active from rapid degradation and protect the skin from prolonged exposure to actives. For more information on nano-encapsulation, see Chapter 14. 5.0 Conclusions

Though existing in abundance in nature and used since the beginning of documented human cultures, the great advancements in encapsulation and vehicle development have required the recognition of “encapsulation” and “vehicle” as separate concepts. They could then be regarded and developed as distinct and emerging technologies. As such, they were regarded as special fields, and therefore improvements and advancements in each were carried out by tailoring them to a multitude of tasks. Tailoring technologies to specific tasks is a process of refinement and targeting multitudes of different applications. This identifies the collective technologies as a field with highly specialized solutions for different problems. Such specialized solutions are characteristic of modern technological processes. In the last several decades, advancements have occurred in the miniaturization of vehicles and capsules. Miniaturization technology has also enhanced specificity and characteristics of encapsulation and release processes, mobilization, penetration, and targeting of drugs and active ingredients. Very recently, nanotechnologies have been implemented in capsule and vehicle design. These newest technologies are targeted at single- molecule encapsulation and mobilization vehicles, where capsules, vehicles, and the tools for their construction are sometimes simultanously developed. Nanometer-range technologies are reaching the molecular realm. As such, they present unique problems in design, engineering, and mechanical handling since the demand for seemingly-simple operations may require the construction of special tooling. It is simple enough to insert a nail or a screw in a piece of wood using a screwdriver or a hammer. How does one insert one molecule into another? This is the opportunity and challenge of nano-encapsulation. Nano-technology is the art and the science of simultanous construction of complex nano-structures and the nano-tools that are utilized in the process. A nanometer is not merely one thousand times smaller than a micron. Events at the nanometer scale occur in a different realm than the micron scale, just as a subparticle in an atom of iron does not reflect a mere miniaturization of an iron bar or a nail. At the present time, nano-technology is as much at the apparent human limit as it is the new human frontier. “From Ancient Potions to Modern Lotions”
6.0 References
1. Magdassi, Shlomo, and Elka Touitou, eds. Novel Cosmetic Delivery Systems. Cosmetic
Science and Technology Series ; V. 19. New York: Marcel Dekker, Inc., 1999. 2. Brown, Lesley, ed. The New Shorter Oxford English Dictionary on Historical Principles. 3. Yechiel, Elishalom. “More Than the Sum of Ingredients: Interactive Vehicles in Advanced Cosmeceuticals.” Personal Care Ingredients/Technical Expo. Sheraton Hotel, New York. 15 April 2004. 4. Capon, Brian. Botany for Gardeners: An Introduction and Guide. Portland, OR: Timber 5. Speight, Martin R.; Hunter, Mark D.; Watt, Allan D. Ecology of Insects : Concepts and Applications. Malden, Mass. Blackwell Science, 1999. 6. Puotinen, C. J. Herbs for Improved Digestion : Herbal Remedies for Stomach Pain, Constipation, Ulcers, Colitis, and Other Gastrointestinal Problems. New Canaan, CT: NTC Contemporary, 1996. 7. Abels, David J., and Vitaly Kipnis. “Bioclimatology and balneology in dermatology: a Dead Sea perspective.” Clinics in Dermatology. Volume 16, Issue 6, 12 November 1998, pp. 695-698. 8. Hodak, Emmilia, Alice B. Gottlieb, Tsvi Segal, Yael Politi, Lea Maron, Jaqueline Sulkes and Michael David. “Climatotherapy at the Dead Sea is a remittive therapy for psoriasis: combined effects on epidermal and immunologic activation.” Journal of American Academy of Dermatology. Volume 49 (2003), Issue 3. pp 451-457. 9. Canela, M.B.F., and M. Sazima. “Aechmea pectinata: a hummingbird-dependent bromeliad with inconspicuous flowers from the rainforest in South-eastern Brazil.” Annals of Botany. 2003 Nov., v. 92, no. 5. pp 731-737. 10. Sitchin, Zecharia. Divine Encounters: A Guide to Visions, Angels, and Other Emissaries. 11. Kramer, Samuel Noah. History Begins At Sumer : Thirty-nine Firsts in Man's Recorded History. Philadelphia University of Pennsylvania Press, 1989. 12. Fox, Everett, trans. The Five Books of Moses. New York: Schocken Books, 1995. 13. Jerusalem Talmud, Masehet Yoma, Chapter 4, p. 41, column D. Translation by E. Yechiel. 14. Babylonian Talmud, Masehet Kritut, p. 6, side B. Translation by E. Yechiel. 15. Maimonides, Laws of the Utensils of the Temple, Chapter 2, law 5. Translation by E. Yechiel. 16. Ruiz, Ana. The Spirit of Ancient Egypt. New York: Algora Publishing, 2001. 17. Kligman, Albert M. “Cosmeceuticals: Do We Need a New Category?” Cosmeceuticals : Drugs Vs. Cosmetics. Howard I. Maibach, ed. Cosmetic Science and Technology Series ; V. 23. New York: Marcel Dekker, Inc., 2000. 18. Faris, James C. The Nightway : A History and a History of Documentation of a Navajo Ceremonial. Albuquerque: University of New Mexico Press, 1990. 19. Baugh, Albert C. and Thomas Cable. A History of the English Language. 4th ed. Englewood 20. Fields, Gregory P. Religious Therapeutics : Body and Health in Yoga, Ayurveda, and Tantra. SUNY Series in Religious Studies. Albany: State University of New York Press, 2001. “From Ancient Potions to Modern Lotions” 21. Dupler, Douglas. "Ayurvedic medicine." The Gale Encyclopedia of Medicine. Second Edition. Jacqueline L. Longe, Editor. 5 vols. Farmington Hills, MI: Gale Group, 2001. 22. Bruno, Leonard C. "Traditional Chinese medicine." The Gale Encyclopedia of Medicine. Second Edition. Jacqueline L. Longe, Editor. 5 vols. Farmington Hills, MI: Gale Group, 2001. 23. Liang, Chien- hui, Ting- liang Zhang, and Bob Flaws. A Handbook of Traditional Chinese Dermatology: Originally Entitled Chang Jian Pi Fu Bing Zhong Yi Zhi Liao Jian Bian ; Or, A Brief Compendium of the TCM Treatment of Common Skin Diseases. Boulder, CO Blue Poppy Press, 1988. 24. Bradley, James. “Medicine on the margins? Hydropathy and orthodoxy in Britain, 1840–60.” Plural Medicine, Tradition and Modernity, 1800-2000. Routledge Studies in the Social History of Medicine, Vol. 13. Waltraud Ernst, ed. New York: Taylor & Francis, 2002. 25. Aust, Louise B. Cosmetic Claims Substantiation. Cosmetic Science and Technology Series ; V. 18. New York Marcel Dekker, Inc., 1998. 26. Flannery, Michael A. “Building a retrospective collection in pharmacy: a brief history of the literature with some considerations for U.S. health sciences library professionals.” Bulletin of the Medical Library Association. 2001 April; 89 (2): 212–221. 27. Grieve, Mrs. M. A Modern Herbal: The Medicinal, Culinary, Cosmetic, and Economic Properties, Cultivation, and Folklore of Herbs, Grasses, Fungi, Shrubs and Trees with All Their Modern Scientific Uses. 1931, revised 1973. Hilda Leyel, ed. London: Dorset Press, 1994. 28. Leyel, Hilda, ed. “Editor’s Introduction.” A Modern Herbal: The Medicinal, Culinary, Cosmetic, and Economic Properties, Cultivation, and Folklore of Herbs, Grasses, Fungi, Shrubs and Trees with All Their Modern Scientific Uses. 1931, revised 1973. London: Dorset Press, 1994. 29. Timbrook, Jan. “Virtuous Herbs: Plants in Chumash Medicine.” Ethnobotany: A Reader. Paul E. Minnis, ed. Norman: University of Oklahoma Press, 2000. 30. Ernst, Waltroud, ed. Plural Medicine, Tradition and Modernity, 1800-2000. Routledge Studies in the Social History of Medicine, Vol. 13. New York: Taylor & Francis, 2002. Botanical Medicine: Efficacy, Quality Assurance, and Regulation. Larchmont, N.Y. Mary Ann Liebert, Inc., 1999. 32. Elsner, Peter and Howard I. Maibach, eds. Cosmeceuticals: Drugs vs. Cosmetics. Cosmetic Science and Technology Series ; V. 23. New York Marcel Dekker, Inc., 2000. 33. McCune, J. S. “Potential of chemotherapy-herb interactions in adult cancer patients.” Support Care Cancer. 2004 Jun; Vol. 12 (6), pp. 454-62. 34. Furrer, M. “Hazards of an alternative medicine device in a patient with a pacemaker.” N Engl J Med, 2004 Apr 15; Vol. 350 (16), pp. 1688-90. 35. Dutta, A. P., S. Bwayo, Z. Xue, O. Akiyode, P. Ayuk-Egbe, D. Bernard, M. N. Daftary, V. Clarke-Tasker. “Complementary and alternative medicine instruction in nursing curricula.” J Natl Black Nurses Assoc. 2003 Dec; Vol. 14 (2), pp. 30-3. 36. Dutta, A. P., M. N. Daftary, P. A. Egba, H. Kang. “State of CAM education in U.S. schools of pharmacy: results of a national survey.” J Am Pharm Assoc. 2003 Jan-Feb; Vol. 43 (1), pp. 81-3. BMC Med Educ. 2004 Jan 12; Vol. 4 (1). “From Ancient Potions to Modern Lotions” 38. Mills, E. J., T. Hollyer, G. Guyatt, C.P. Ross, R. Saranchuk, K. Wilson. “Teaching evidence- based complementary and alternative medicine: 1. A learning structure for clinical decision changes.” Journal of Alternative and Complementary Medicine: Research on Paradigm, Practice, and Policy. 2002 Apr; Vol. 8 (2), pp. 207-14. 39. Coulter, I. D. “The rise and rise of complementary and alternative medicine: a sociological perspective.” Medical Journal of Australia. 2004 Jun 7; Vol. 180 (11), pp. 587-9. 40. Zick, S. M. “Bridging CAM practice and research: teaching CAM practitioners about research methodology.” Altern Ther Health Med. 2004 May-Jun; Vol. 10 (3), pp. 50-6. 41. Sibinga, E. M. “Parent-Pediatrician Communication about Complementary and Alternative Medicine Use for Children.” Clin Pediatr. 2004 May; Vol. 43 (4), pp. 367-73. 42. Kolstad, A. “Use of complementary and alternative therapies: a national multicentre study of oncology health professionals in Norway.” Support Care Cancer. 2004 May; Vol. 12 (5), pp. 312-8. 43. Simon, G.E. “Mental health visits to complementary and alternative medicine providers.” Gen Hosp Psychiatry, 2004 May-Jun; Vol. 26 (3), pp. 171-7. 44. McPherson, F. “Use of complementary and alternative therapies among active duty soldiers, military retirees, and family members at a military hospital.” Military Medicine. 2004 May; Vol. 169 (5), pp. 354-7. 45. Shuval, J. T. “Changing boundaries: modes of coexistence of alternative and biomedicine.” Qual Health Res. 2004 May; Vol. 14 (5), pp. 675-90. 46. Kligler, B. “Core competencies in integrative medicine for medical school curricula: a proposal.” Academic medicine: Journal of the Association of American Medical Colleges. 2004 Jun; Vol. 79 (6), pp. 521-31. 47. McIntyre, Anne. The Medicinal Garden: How to Grow and Use Your Own Medicinal Herbs. 48. Deeb, C., P. Walter, J. Castaing, P. Penhoud, P. Veyssiere. “Transmission Electron Microscopy (TEM) investigations of ancient Egyptian cosmetic powders.” Applied Physics A: Materials Science and Processing. Vol. 79 No. 4, 393-396. July 2004. 49. Fisch, Harold, trans. The Jerusalem Bible. Jerusalem: Koren Publishers, 1992. “From Ancient Potions to Modern Lotions”
7.0 Formulations
We will present these age-old formulae along with suggestions for enhancement by our state-of-
the-art nanotechnologies.

7.1 Acne Treatment (Traditional Chinese), Enhanced with Nano-Encapsulation
This is an adaptation of formulae found in Liang’s
Dermatology21: common names of plants have been added and the steps have been numbered. FORMULAE: internal and external acne treatment, to be administered simultaneously Internal formula: 1. Powder equal portions of Radix Salviae Miltiorrhizae (Dan Shen: “red-rooted sage”), Radix Codonopsis Pilosulae (Dang Shen: “bastard ginseng”), Radix Sophorae Flavescentis (Ku Shen: “sophora root”), and Radix Glehniae Littoralis (Sha Shen: “glehnia root”) 2.Mix with mashed Semen Juglandis Regiae (Hu Tao Ren: “English walnut”). 3. Make into pills the size of Chinese parasol tree seeds. 4. Take 10g with water every night. Topical formula: 1. Equal parts Radix Et Rhizoma Rhei (Da Huang: “rhubarb root”), Cortex Phellodendri (Huang Bai: “philodendron bark”), Radix Scutellariae Baicalensis (Huang Qin: “baikal skullcap”), and Radix Sophorae Flavescentis (Ku Shen: “sophora root”). 2. Grind into a fine powder. 3. Mix 10 ml of this medicinal powder with 100 ml distilled water and 1 ml carbolic acid. For external application only. Clears heat and facilitates astringency, stops itching and disperses inflammation in the treatment of dermatitis due to chemical (allergy), eczema, folliculitis, etc. In order to enhance the above topical formulation with state-of-the-art nanotechnology, the following is recommended: 1. Add an oil phase to the above formulation, which has only a water phase originally. The oil phase should be comprised of precious oils, such as rose hip seed oil and evening primrose oil, and essential oils, such as geranium and lavender, and oil-soluble vitamins, such as Vitamin A and Vitamin E. Formulate the oil phase into nano-emulsion Dispercicles™, obtainable from Elsom Research. 2. Add nano-encapsulated actives, obtainable from Elsom Research. The updated formulation is a fine topical with light texture which is non-greasy and readily absorbed. “From Ancient Potions to Modern Lotions”
7.2 Oil of Anointing (Ancient Hebrew), Enhanced with Nano-Emulsion
This is an approximation of the ingredients listed in Exodus 30:22-25 for formulation of
“anointing oil of holiness, perfume from the perfume- mixture, of perfumer’s making” in Fox’s
1995 translation12. Note that the instructions for making and using this oil are followed in
Exodus by instructions that it must never be made “in its (exact) proportion” for any purpose
other than anointment of the Tabernacle and the priests; since neither exists today, it follows that
actually producing this perfumed oil would always be inappropriate, even if all the materials and
measures could be identified and obtained.
500 shekel-weight of fragrant-spices, essence, streaming- myrrh (sap of Commiphora 500 shekel- weight of cinnamon-spice (bark of Cinnamomum zeylanicum) 250 shekel-weight of fragrant-cane (“sweet calamus”49, root of Acorus calumus; or perhaps lemongrass, Cymbopogon citratus) 250 shekel- weight of cassia (bark of Cinnamomum cassia) 1 hin (perhaps about 5 liters) of olive oil (fruit of Olea) This formula does not contain a water phase. Though presumptuous to improve on a divinely-specified formula, its alteration using Elsom Research nano-emulsion Dispercicles™ will provide a unique aromatherapy-type topical cream. Formulation of fragrant oils into nano-emulsion can be provided by Elsom Research. This will result in a fine oil- in- water type aromatherapy nano-emulsion which is non-greasy and easily absorbed. “From Ancient Potions to Modern Lotions” 7.3 Pain Relief Gel (Ayurvedic), Enhanced with Nanosomes™

This is our variation of Rumalaya gel, a topical analgesic based on ginger, mint, cinnamon, cedar, pine, and other fragrant botanical extracts. For each plant material, Ayurvedic names, botanical names, and common English names are provided. Ingredients: Nirgundi (Vitex negundo, “chaste tree”) 7.5 mg Devadaru (Cedrus deodara, “deodar cedar”) 7.5 mg Sunthi (Zingiber officinale, “ginger”) 7.5 mg Shallaki (Boswellia serrata, “frankincense”) 7.5 mg Pudina (Mentha arvensis, “mint”) 60 mg Tvak (Cinnamomum zeylanicum, “cinnamon”) 30 mg Sarala (Pinus roxburghii, “chir pine”) 55 mg Gandhapura taila (Gaultheria fragrantissima, “Indian wintergreen”) 55 mg Formulation of the above into 1000 mg of nano-emulsion Dispersicles™ can be provided by Elsom Research. The result is a highly fragrant fine cream with light texture and excellent penetration. For deep penetration, formulation by Elsom Research can be provided with both, dispersicles™ and Nanosomes™, a double emulsion technology with unmatched performance. “From Ancient Potions to Modern Lotions”
8.0 Author’s Biographies and Contact Information
8.1 Rosemarie L. Coste

Ms. Coste is Vice President and Director of Planning at Elsom Research Co., Inc. An avid gardener, one of her informal responsibilities for Elsom Research is identifying traditional and new uses for plant material. Ms. Coste is Managing Editor of the Formulations, online at and Information Sciences from Trinity University and an M.A. in English from the University of
Texas at San Antonio. Ms. Coste is currently a doctoral candidate in English at Texas A&M
University. Her research interests include technical communication, storytelling as a tool for
social change, religion in literature, and science in literature. In her spare time she teaches
English composition and literature classes at Our Lady of the Lake University in San Antonio.

210.493.5225, by fax at 210.493.8949, or by mail at 4510 Black Hickory Woods, San Antonio,
TX, 78249-1402, USA.
8.1 Elishalom Yechiel, Ph.D.
Elishalom Yechiel is Founder, President, and Director of Research at Elsom Research Co., Inc.
He is also Scientific Editor of the
Journal of Topical Formulations, online at an M.Sc. and Ph.D. from Hebrew University. All his degrees are in Biochemistry. Dr. Yechiel was a Post-Doctoral fellow at Johns Hopkins University, a Visiting Associate at the National Institute of Health, and assistant Professor at the University of Texas Health Science Center at San Antonio. He holds several patents related to liposomes and age-related diseases. Dr. Yechiel invented and trademarked the term “Nanosome™” in the early 1990s to describe nanometer-range liposomes he developed. His research interests are in membrane structure and the aging process, and in using nanotechnology to develop new emulsification techniques. Dr. Yechiel developed intra-dermal and trans-dermal vehicles for topical use. These vehicles are suitable for delivery via skin of actives and drugs in cosmetic and OTC applications. He is currently working on a topical anti-cancer drug for melanoma, based on a vehicle and a transporter he developed. A summary of his April 2004 PCI/TX presentation on the role of active ingredients and delivery systems in Elsom Research’s topical formulations, "More Than the Sum of Ingredients: Interactive Vehicles in Advanced Cosmeceuticals," is available through the Journal of Topical Formulations at Dr. Yechiel can be reached by email at 210.493.5225, by fax at 210.493.8949, or by mail at 4510 Black Hickory Woods, San Antonio, TX, 78249-1402, USA. “From Ancient Potions to Modern Lotions”
9.0 Company Information

Elsom Research Co., Inc, (http://www.elsomresearch.com) is a biotechnology startup in San Antonio, TX, USA. The company specializes in custom small- medium size batch (2Kg-3,000Kg) topical formulations, creatively combining nanotechnology and botanical ingredients, vitamins, and other actives. Nanotechnologies currently available for use in custom manufacturing include Nanosomes™, nano-encapsulation, nano-emulsion, and double emulsion; additional formulation technologies and new combinations of existing technologies are being developed, as are new applications for liposomes as carriers of beneficial materials. Our Nanosome™-derived technologies revitalize the field of liposome technology with new and exciting applications, particularly in the pioneering of anti-aging research. We can provide Nanosomes™, nano-emulsion Dispersicles™, and nano-encapsulates. We can incorporate actives into theses nano-structures and further formulate them into topicals. Elsom Research manufactures and markets several lines of the cosmeceuticals, dermaceuticals, and theraceuticals developed by its founder, Dr. Yechiel. Private label manufacturing is available, as is technology sharing which can be based on co-development of specific applications, licensing, or other forms of engagement. “From Ancient Potions to Modern Lotions” Glossary

active cosmetics
skin care products designed to have an effect on health as well as appearance the pollen-bearing male organ of a flower separation of encapsulated material from the capsule; release use of boiling as a method of extraction; also, the result of such extraction components operating in combination to move or change material to make it useful placement of material within a capsule; also, the result of such placement designed for movement within or between the layers of the skin Moshe ben Maimon (1135-1204), rabbi, physician, philosopher, and prolific writer. Also known as “the Rambam”. the process of designing or constructing in small size waves of involuntary contraction along a muscular tube such as the esophagus or intestine, used to force material forward in the tube the pollen-receiving female organ of a flower transportation or modifation of an active so that its activity is only available to a narrowly-defined receptor designed for absorption through the skin into the bloodstream

Source: http://topical-formulations.com/topical/lotions.pdf