Biowaxes from Palm Oil as Promising Candidates for Cosmetic Matrices and Pharmaceuticals for Human Use

The production of waxes from vegetable oils, such as palm oil, for use as a base material in products for human applications is an alternative to those derived from petroleum and animals. Seven palm oil–derived waxes, called biowaxes (BW1–BW7) in this work, were obtained by catalytic hydrotreating of refined and bleached African palm oil and refined palm kernel oil. They were characterized by three properties: compositional, physicochemical (melting point, penetration value, and pH), and biological (sterility, cytotoxicity, phototoxicity, antioxidant, and irritant). Their morphologies and chemical structures were studied by SEM, FTIR, UV–Vis, and (1)H NMR. The BWs presented structures and compositions similar to natural biowaxes (beeswax and carnauba). They had a high concentration of waxy esters (17%–36%) with long alkyl chains (C, 19–26) per carbonyl group, which are related to high melting points (<20–47.9 °C) and low penetration values (2.1–3.8 mm). They also proved to be sterile materials with no cytotoxic, phototoxic, antioxidant, or irritant activity. The biowaxes studied could be used in cosmetic and pharmacological products for human use.