Chinese ingredients company Nutri-Woods Biotech has developed an oat-derived ingredient that mimics the effect of epidermal growth factors (EGF).
EGFs stimulates cell growth, repair, and regeneration. They have been used in wound healing and tissue regeneration in medical settings before being adapted for use in cosmetics.
Nutri-Woods Biotech has observed a growing demand for EGF cosmetic and developed FlexiGlu 992, which it launched at this year’s Personal Care and Homecare Ingredients (PCHi) tradeshow in Guangzhou, China.
Dr Liu Yuhong, chief scientific officer of Nutri-woods Biotech, explained that the ingredient targets the same EGF receptors (EGFs) to mimic the effects of EGF.
For instance, it claims to restore the skin barrier’s “brick-like” structure by addressing repair deficiencies and stimulating endogenous collagen regeneration.
The company billed the ingredient as a “plant-based” alternative to EGF, highlighting the similar efficacy and its safety.
In February, FlexiGlu 992 scored a silver award under the Skin Barrier Repair category of the 2025 Fountain Awards.
How it works
FlexiGlu 992 is derived from oats that undergo a process that alters the structure of the polysaccharides.
“We have used a technique to make the structure more flexible. Normally, it has a global structure but using a special technique, we’ve changed from its normal state to flexible chain structure,” said Liu.
According to Liu, previous studies that shown that when some polysaccharides are altered to become more flexible, their efficacy is enhanced.
“With this structure, it has more exposed active sites and can more effectively target its receiver, which in this case are the EGFR.”
The company was inspired to create an ingredient that could mimic and enhance the body’s natural processes of healing.
“Our body has natural mechanisms to heal wounds and counteract ageing. For example, EGF and EGFR play key roles in skin repair and regeneration. When developing our ingredient, we drew inspiration from these biological processes.
“Our approach is to support the body’s natural ability to produce collagen and repair itself, rather than relying on external interventions. Our ingredient works with the body to restore balance, promote repair, and maintain a youthful state safely and naturally.”
Nutri-woods believes this concept will resonate with beauty consumers, who prioritise safety.
The company decided to explore the use of oats as the raw material because oat-based cosmetic ingredients are already popular for their soothing, hydrating, and anti-inflammatory properties.
“[Oat-based ingredients] are already a famous ingredient for skin barrier repair that formulators like and we wanted to make it even more effective,” said Liu.
She elaborated: “This flexible structure lowers the activation threshold compared to its normal structure, which would need higher concentration of ingredients to activate the receiver.”
The company recommends that FlexiGlu 992 is used at a concentration of 0.01% to 0.2%.
