Finnish scientists have made a new breakthrough in leaf processing technology: leaf extract can be dyed hair and used as health food

Textile and beauty industry ushered in a sustainable development of new raw materials: autumn leaves It is reported that the VTT technology research center of Finland is currently developing a leaf processing technology, which will be applied to the cosmetics, textile, feed and food industries in the future In an interview with WWD, VTT said that autumn leaves contain pigments, sugars, proteins and compounds that inhibit the growth of harmful bacteria Specifically, the natural pigments contained in leaves include: orange and yellow carotene, red anthocyanin; in addition, other beneficial compounds include: phenols, lignin, carbohydrate and protein But so far, these leaves are rarely used effectively, usually left on the street, or used for composting or burning, producing a lot of garbage and carbon dioxide The demand for natural pigments is growing rapidly in various industries around the world These natural pigments can even be used as health products In the leaf processing technology developed by VTT, the leaves collected in gardens and parks are dried to extract beneficial compounds The research and development of VTT is carried out in the laboratory At present, it is in the pilot stage, adopting the fallen leaves collected by Lassila & tikanoja in otaniemi area of Finland The environmental protection significance of the project and the safety of the extracted compounds have attracted wide attention in the industry In the experiment, they found several alternative methods to use leaves efficiently The pilot work will test the actual effect of research and development and the amount of compounds extracted from leaves The pigment contained in the leaves is a natural dye for cosmetics and textiles The chemical composition of leaves of different tree species is quite different By processing specific leaves, beneficial compounds suitable for the production of new products can be extracted, thus creating economic benefits In addition, the remaining biomass after extraction is an ideal nutrient for improving horticultural fertility Or, these wastes can continue to be used to extract compounds that inhibit the growth of harmful bacteria for use in cosmetics and health industries According to Liisa nohynek, this technology developed by VTT has wide application significance for raw material processing in the textile and beauty industry The extracted materials can still provide more business opportunities for gardening, cosmetics, health and pharmaceutical companies.