Sheep are exposed to all sorts of weather every day. Their sebaceous glands excrete a secretion that protects them against rain and wetness. That substance is lanolin, also called wool wax or, not quite correct, wool fat. It covers the wool fiber with a waxy film that isolates the wool from weather factors. Dependent on…

Already 70 years ago, the Russian pharmacologist Nicolai Lazarev was convinced that plant-based active agents could help human beings to reduce or compensate emotional and physical stress. His extensive research substantiated his thesis. Lazarev called the special agents adaptogens to refer to the English term “to adapt”. The medicinal plants strengthen the body’s own ability…

A new trend in cosmetics enjoys increasing popularity: Clean Beauty. “Clean” in this context means to be “free of products”. The precise definition of clean beauty frequently is a matter of interpretation: the term is not yet subject to a legally regulated standard. That is the reason why it is often used improperly or misleadingly…

Microplastic describes solid and insoluble synthetic plastic particles (polymers) smaller than 5 millimeters. Many particles are even smaller than 1 millimeter and hardly visibly with the naked eye. The tiny particles effortlessly pass through wastewater treatment plants and reach rivers and lakes, the sea and the ocean. Even modern water management systems are not sufficiently…

Dear customers, dear partners and suppliers We would like to express our sincere thanks for your confidence, the comfortable cooperation and your loyalty during the past year. This year we support the DKMS GmbH. The charitable organization is dedicated to the essential challenge to motivate as many persons as possible to become stem cell donors…

Hop, for centuries, has been the soul of the beer. In the popular beverage, it is a real multi-tasker: It stabilizes the beer froth, uses its antibiotic qualities to prevent rapid deterioration, and intensifies the typical taste of beer with its high content of bitter and aromatic substances. The medicinal plant of the year 2017…

Hydrolyzed proteins are proteins that underwent the process of hydrolysis. In general, whole proteins are rather big molecules that cannot be assimilated by the body without intermediate steps. The complex protein molecules must be split into smaller fractions to become usable in form of free amino acids or dipeptides and tripeptides. The reduction to amino…

Levulinic acid is a biochemical compound of the group of the oxocarboxylic acids. Synonyms are 4-oxopentanoic acid or 4-oxovaleric acid. The substance which is receiving growing attention, probably, for the first time, intentionally was produced and classified in 1869. A chemical process frequently used to produce the substance is the hydrolysis of cellulose. Levulinic acid…

The prevailing trend these days is towards minimalism. It captures all spheres of life. It is a certain way of life deliberately going without superfluous junk and luxury and not bowing to the ubiquitous pressure to consume.  Persons who decide in favor of minimalism experience feelings of greater freedom, happiness and serenity. One basis of…

On October 29, 2010, an international environmental agreement was concluded in the Japanese port Nagoya.  The aim of the protocol of the 10thconference of the parties to the UN Convention on Biological Diversity has been the implementation of the objectives of the UN Convention on Biological Diversity of 1993. The EU and 50 other states…