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Preserving botanical extract
Hello.
I’ve made a botanical extract from herbs and propylene glycol. As the solvent contains a small amount of water (~1-2%) and I want to store it for a few months, I would like to preserve it to avoid any possibility of contamination. I was thinking about Phenoxyethanol & Ethylhexylglycerin, as this preservation system is said to be effective against bacteria, yeast and mold, but knowing that theese ingredients alone are mainly used against the growth of bacteria, I’m thinking that it might not be effective enough against fungi. What are your thoughts on this, is it enough to use PE&EG or should I use additional preservative / change the preservative system? Tests are not done yet. Any advice is appreciated. Another question related to this: generally how effective is Phenoxyethanol&Ethylhexylglycerin together (in emulsions at pH5-6 combined with chelating agent) against fungi?
@PhilGeis hope you have the time to guide me on this 🙂
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6 Replies
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You have a valid concern. Can you say more about the solvent and 1% water??
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Hello Phil. Thanks for the quick answer. 🙂 The solvent is Propylene Glycol which contains ~2% water. Nothing else is added (except the preservative that I would like to incorporate at 1%).
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I’ll just cut to the chase - if your water is just 1-2% in propylene glycol - you do not need a preservative. 86 the phenoxy/EHG.
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Thank you very much, Phil! I’ll just skip it then and do the tests without.
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PE & EG is known to be effective against a wide range of microorganisms, including fungi https://naturallythinking.com/phenoxyethanol-ethylhexylglycerin uno online
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Please don’t believe all the marketing BS, esp. from a repacker. Phenoxy/EHG is not that good vs fungi and not great vs Gram + bacteria.
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