By Elizabeth Hunter

Potato crop waste is to be turned into skincare and makeup in a unique new project.

Scientists at the University of Aberdeen are working in collaboration with farmers, in the hopes of turning potato waste into high-value compounds that can be used for cosmetics, pharmaceutical and nutraceutical products

The Scottish seed potato industry , worth $24.2 million, generates over 51,000 tons of potato shaws annually - but stems and leaves of the plants, known as "shaws" are discarded as part of the process.

The project aims to extract solanesol from the discarded shaws, a compound vital for producing coenzyme Q10 and vitamin K2, key ingredients in cosmeceutical, nutraceutical, and pharmaceutical products.

Solanesol is currently sourced mostly from tobacco, but as d

See Full Page