Israel-based ingredients supplier Frutarom has signed an agreement to market Collactive, a French 'anti-wrinkle' oral ingredient, across North America.

Frutarom, which is based in Haifa but has an offices worldwide, said it hoped the ingredient, which is owned by Pas-de-Calais-based Copalis, would find applications in the functional food and dietary supplement sectors, targeting what it said was "the rapidly growing beauty-from-within category."

Collactive is an all-natural ingredient composed of marine collagen and elastin peptides in the same ratio found naturally in skin. When taken orally, according to Frutarom, collagen and elastin have shown a synergistic anti-wrinkle action, stimulating skin to lift and tone sagging areas and minimise lines and wrinkles while increasing skin moisture retention.

In a study performed by Dermscan Laboratories, France, the anti-wrinkle, moisturising properties and safety of Collactive were evaluated through a clinical study of 43 women aged 40 to 55 with crow's feet-type wrinkles. The study showed Collactive could safely increase skin moisture and decrease the number of deep wrinkles, said Frutarom. It also provided a protective effect against wrinkles compared to the placebo group.

"Collactive is one of the most prominent oral beauty ingredients in the French beauty-from-within market," said Laurent Leduc, VP, USA health division of Frutarom USA. "Thanks to its low molecular weight, Collactive is water-soluble and fully digestible. It can easily be applied to clear beverage formulations, making it an ideal anti-ageing ingredient for beauty drinks and beauty-from-within formulations. Collactive also can be incorporated into capsules, tablets and food products, such as nutrition bars."

He added: "We are excited to bring this natural anti-wrinkle ingredient to the American nutricosmetics market. This opens up new opportunities for companies seeking to expand their product line into personal care."