Tea and probiotics: Amorepacific launches new R&D centre to study green tea probiotic strain

The newly launched Green Tea Probiotics Research Center aims to carry on the research into a probiotic strain found in Jeju Island organic green tea discovered by Amorepacific in 2010.

“Amorepacific R&D Centre opened Green Tea Probiotics Research Center to deepen the study of [a lactobacillus strain] newly found in Jeju organic green tea garden and to continue the development of innovative products in microorganisms and other fields,” ​the company said in a statement.

This new research facility follows the launch of the firm’s Anti-pollution Research Centre and the Sulwhasoo Herbal Medicinal Science Research Centre in 2019.

The Amorepacific R&D Center has studied the newly discovered strain, known as APSulloc, in collaboration with Professor Dr. Wilhelm Heinrich Holzapfel, a leading expert in the area of the microbiota.

The study found that it was found to be hardier compared other strains, able to survive better in the intestinal track while having that antibacterial and antibiotic resistant properties.

The joint research also confirmed that the probiotic strain decreases the level of inflammation factors in the stomach.

Moving forward, Amorepacific highlighted that the R&D centre will focus on demonstrating the effects of the probiotic strain to develop products in cosmetics as well as health foods.

“It will continue its best R&D efforts to deliver the best quality products to customers with its unrivalled technological prowess.”​

Additionally, it plans to expand its research into the microbiome, an area of increasing interest to the company.

Last July, it launched SOON+, its first skin care brand focused on probiotics and microbiome.

The brand consists of three products which contain a probiotic ingredient derived from kimchi, a fermented vegetable dish that is staple in Korean cuisine.

Green tea pioneers

Amorepacific considers green tea to be its ‘main heritage ingredient’ and one of its most valuable assets.

According to the company, it has cultivated approximately 3.3 million square metres of organic green tea on its farm on Jeju Island since the 1970s.

The organic green tea farm allowed the South Korea cosmetics company to research Jeju Island green tea since the 1980s with a focus on the skin benefits of green tea that continued well into the 2000s.

The company claimed that it pioneered the research into green tea for skin care and launched the first green tea-based cosmetics brand. Meero, in 1989.

The company was also involved in breeding its own varieties of green tea.

The Jangwon No. 2 and No. 3 varieties developed by the company are said to contain high levels of amino acids and catechins that “maximise the natural skin benefits” of green tea.

Today, these two varieties are used in a wide array of Amorepacific’s cosmetic products, such as Innisfree’s Jeju Green Tea line, which contains Jangwon No. 2.