An Integrated Approach to Develop Innovative, Sustainable, and Effective Cosmetic Ingredients: The Case Report of Fatty-Acids-Enriched Wild Strawberry Waste Extract

The sourcing of raw materials with low environmental impact, e.g., “upcycled” ingredients from short supply chains, has currently become necessary, and agri-food waste represents a very attractive hub to produce innovative cosmetic extracts. In this paper, an integrated approach considering all the different steps, starting from material selection, extraction, chemical characterization, biological activity evaluation, and environmental impact calculation, was adopted to obtain innovative, sustainable, and effective cosmetic raw materials from food waste. As case report, a supercritical CO2 extract obtained from wild-strawberry-processing waste after jam production (WSWSCO2 extract) was developed. The fatty acids profile of the waste material and WSWSCO2 extract was investigated via a GC–MS method, and mainly polyunsaturated fatty acids (PUFAs) such as linoleic and linolenic acids were detected. Furthermore, the ability of the WSWSCO2 extract to inhibit 5α-reductase type 1 expression in skin fibroblasts was assessed, confirming significant efficacy at the dose of 5 mg/mL. Finally, in view of the eco-sustainability approach, the environmental impact related to WSWSCO2 extract was calculated using a life cycle assessment (LCA) analytical approach, considering different parameters and indicators (e.g., carbon footprint) and verifying the eco-friendly approach in extract development and production. Although further research is needed, for example, to check the full composition of the extract and its effect on skin cells, these results suggest that the WSWSCO2 extract may represent an innovative and sustainable ingredient for cosmetic applications especially in topical preparation for the treatment of some androgenic-related discomfort, such as acne and androgenic alopecia, reflecting the potentiality of the holistic and pioneering approach related to ingredient development presented in this study for the cosmetic sector.