DETAILED ACTION
Notice of Pre-AIA or AIA Status
The present application, filed on or after March 16, 2013, is being examined under the first inventor to file provisions of the AIA .
Response to Amendment
Applicant's amendment and argument filed 07/02/2026, in response to the non-final rejection, are acknowledged and have been fully considered. Any previous rejection or objection not mentioned herein is withdrawn.
Claims 1, 3-8 are pending and being examined on the merits.
Claim Rejections - 35 USC § 112
The following is a quotation of 35 U.S.C. 112(b):
(b) CONCLUSION.—The specification shall conclude with one or more claims particularly pointing out and distinctly claiming the subject matter which the inventor or a joint inventor regards as the invention.
The following is a quotation of 35 U.S.C. 112 (pre-AIA ), second paragraph:
The specification shall conclude with one or more claims particularly pointing out and distinctly claiming the subject matter which the applicant regards as his invention.
Claims 1, 3-8 rejected under 35 U.S.C. 112(b) or 35 U.S.C. 112 (pre-AIA ), second paragraph, as being indefinite for failing to particularly point out and distinctly claim the subject matter which the inventor or a joint inventor (or for applications subject to pre-AIA 35 U.S.C. 112, the applicant), regards as the invention.
Claim 1 recites “moriche (buriti) palm oil” and it is unclear if the term within the parentheses is limiting the claim to any specific component or suggestive in nature making the claim indefinite.
All other claims depend directly or indirectly from the rejected claims and are, therefore, also rejected under 35 U.S.C. 112(b) or 35 U.S.C. 112 (pre-AIA ), second paragraph, for the reasons set forth above.
Claim Rejections - 35 USC § 103
The text of those sections of Title 35, U.S. Code not included in this action can be found in a prior Office action.
Claims 1 and 3-7 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Park Deok Hoon et. al. (KR2010-0013095A), hereinafter Hoon, Ohtake and Wang (Trehalose: Current Use and Future Applications, Journal of Pharmaceutical Sciences, Vol. 100, No. 6, May 2011), hereinafter Ohtake, and Maikel Hendriks (WO2016055440A1). This rejection is new based on the amendments and arguments filed on 07/02/2026.
Hoon teaches a cosmetic composition for improving skin whitening or anti-wrinkling containing aldiroba oil which also ensures formulation stability without toxicity. The oil can be found in effective amounts ranging from 0.0001-10 weight % (see abstract and claim 1).
Hoon also teaches “In a specific embodiment of the present invention, the andiroba oil of the present invention is excellent in whitening effect by inhibiting the activity of intracellular tyrosinase and inhibiting melanin production, inhibiting collagenase activity and promoting collagen synthesis wrinkle improvement effect is excellent through the molecular mechanism of. Therefore, the andrioba oil is useful as a cosmetic composition for skin whitening and wrinkle improvement. In addition, the cosmetic composition of the present invention is safe on human skin because it does not show a distinctive pattern in the skin accumulation stimulation test” (see page 2 last para.). Hoon teaches andiroba oil in amounts at 1% (see example 5).
Hoon does not specifically teach the composition to comprise of at least one prebiotic sugar or Moriche palm oil.
Ohtake teaches “Trehalose is used in a wide variety of cosmetic products including bath oils, hair growth tonics, and moisturizers; examples include Lux shampoo (Unilever, Tokyo, Japan), skin milk body lotion (Nivea-Kao, Tokyo, Japan), and Pro Tec style deodorant (Lion, Tokyo, Japan). Trehalose and its sulfate forms are used as moisture-retaining agents in several cosmetic creams and lotions, whereas the fatty acid esters of trehalose are thought to act as surface-active agents.
Furthermore, trehalose may be incorporated into cosmetic products to enhance their storage stability and to mask the odor of active ingredient(s) and their degradation products, if any are produced (Table 6). During storage, cosmetics (particularly, cream-based products) may undergo degradation (oxidation) and emit unpleasant odor. As cosmetics are used for skin care, hair care, and makeup, the aroma of these products is a critical factor that can influence its quality and popularity (and thus sales). In one study, the effect of trehalose in suppressing the formation of aldehydes was examined from a variety of oil-based products, including triethylhexanoin, sunflower oil, grape seed oil, and cacao oil. Trehalose was shown to suppress the formation of both short-chain (3–7 carbons) and medium-chain (8–16 carbons) aldehydes and alcohols following storage at 45◦C for up to 4 weeks, in most cases by 50% and in some cases by more than 90%. The effectiveness of trehalose in protecting the cell membrane was described previously for liposomal applications. The outer layer of human skin consists of layers of cells that maintain approximately 20% water, which contribute to the texture (i.e., softness) and malleability of the skin and create a network of cells that acts as a barrier to dehydration and concurrently, intrusion of foreign material. Thus, the maintenance of water content on the outer layer of skin is essential. In a study by Takeuchi and Banno, human skin cells were dried for several hours after reaching confluency, and the effects of several sugars at various concentrations were examined. Trehalose was demonstrated to improve the survival of these cells to desiccation in a concentration-dependent manner (determined by trypan blue staining); in the presence of 0.25% trehalose, the survival rate after 4 h of desiccation increased from 23% (no trehalose) to 41%, and increased further to 45% at 1% concentration. In comparison with trehalose, sucrose was less effective. Thus, trehalose preserved the integrity of cells upon desiccation, as was observed previously for liposomes. For this reason, trehalose may be an effective ingredient in lotions and moisturizers. The low number of commercial products containing trehalose for this purpose may be attributed to its cost, although with the development of novel production methods, this may present less of a hurdle” (see p 2043, Use in the cosmetic industry).
“The amount of trehalose addition must be optimized, as too low of a concentration results in insufficient replacement of hydrogen bonds (lost by the removal of water) and too high of a concentration can lead to trehalose crystallization, again leading to insufficient hydrogen bonding to the protein surface” (see right column, last para, page 2032).
Hendrik’s general disclosure is to dermatological kits comprising compositions using hibiscus flower and buriti oil (see abstract).
Hendrik teaches “The second (dermatological) composition is specially provided to the brown spot being treated with the first composition to support the peeling process, to stimulate the natural cell renewal in the skin and to protect the sensitive skin from harmful UV radiation. Especially the second composition is provided to boost the exfoliation process. Especially, the second composition also provides moisturizing properties. Buriti oil is the oil extracted from Mauritia flexuosa fruit, especially from the pulp of the Mauritia flexuosa fruit. The botanical oil contains relative high concentrations of oleic acid, tocopherols and carotenoids, especially beta-carotene, and may be used to treat burns because of its soothing qualities. The oil provides a natural sun protection and may filter and absorb UV rays from the sun” (see page 9, last para.).
Hendrick teaches “wherein in the second composition a concentration of an oil extracted from the Mauritia flexuosa fruit is selected in the range 0.2-10 wt. %, such as especially 1-3 wt. %” (see page 11, lines 10-12).
Therefore it would have been obvious to persons skilled in the art before the effective filing date to combine (andiroba) oil also known to those skilled in the art as Carapa guianensis oil in with trehalose as a combined cosmetic composition because Hoon teaches that Carapa guianensis oil (aka andiroba oil) has collagen synthesis, collagenase and wrinkle inhibiting properties and is used in topical cosmetic applications. Hoon also teaches the andiroba oil to be stabilizing which would act as a preservative along with trehalose. Additionally, Ohtake teaches trehalose is used in cosmetics as a moisturizing agent and is used in cosmetics to preserve the cosmetic products storability and to mask odors of active ingredients. It would have been obvious to find the effective amount of trehalose to act as a preservative because it is well within the purview of an artisan to do so, especially given the prior art. Ohtake teaches that 0.25% trehalose, the survival rate of skin cells after 4 h of desiccation increased from 23% (no trehalose) to 41%, and increased further to 45% at 1% concentration. Therefore, there appears to be a dose-dependent increase between 0.25%-1% trehalose concentration and optimizing within this range would ultimately bring about the prebiotic effect as can be appreciated from the applicant’s own work (see figure 1).
It would have also been obvious to include buriti palm oil as it is taught by Hendriks to be high in concentrations of oleic acid, tocopherols and carotenoids, especially beta-carotene, and may be used to treat burns because of its soothing qualities. The oil provides a natural sun protection and may filter and absorb UV rays from the sun. Hendricks also teaches including the oil in a concentration of at least 0.1 % and the inclusion of the palm oil at this amount is made obvious given the relied upon art.
Although the art is silent on wherein the composition would act as a prebiotic or directly on firmness and elasticity through acting on collagen, elastin, glcyosaminoglycans and metalloproteinase modulation, or for antiaging, or through acting on IL- 6, IL-8, IL-10, and PGE2 synthesis, the composition would inherently also have these properties because these are inherent to those specific ingredients within certain ranges as can be appreciated by the applicants own testing (see instant figures 1-12B). The same inherent property would have been reached from the same optimization as argued above because the applicant shows effective ranges of andiroba oil that are within the ranges being claimed as effective in the prior art (see Figures 4A-D-10A-D) and persons having ordinary skill in the art would optimize the andiroba oil to be in these amounts as they are shown to be effective for inhibiting collagenase activity, promoting collagen synthesis and wrinkle improvement effects at these amounts.
Claim 8 is rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Park Deok Hoon et. al. (KR2010-0013095A), hereinafter Hoon, Ohtake and Wang (Trehalose: Current Use and Future Applications, Journal of Pharmaceutical Sciences, Vol. 100, No. 6, May 2011) and Maikel Hendriks (WO2016055440A1) as applied to claims 1 and 3-7 above, and further in view of Arroteia et al. (EP3038715B1). This rejection is new based on the amendments and arguments filed on 07/02/2026.
Hoon and Ohtkae’s combined teaching teach a prebiotic composition comprising of trehalose and andiroba oil however are silent on the composition further comprising guacatonga extract.
Regarding claim 8, Arroteia teaches “a cosmetic composition, characterized by comprising 0.0001 to 10%, by weight of the total composition, of guaçatonga extract (Casearia sylvestris), 0.00005 to 10%, by weight of the total composition, of aroeira extract (Schinus terebinthifolius raddi) and cosmetically acceptable adjuvants” (see claim 1). Arroteia teaches that guaçatonga extract at different concentrations can increase LOX, tropoelastin, fibulin-5, MMP-12 gene expression relative to non-treated cells (see fig. 1, 2, 6, 7, 9 etc.) and has ability to increase collagen type 1, elastin and hyaluronic acid (see fig. 10 and 15-16).
Arroteia teaches adding 20% silicone dioxide as a preserving agent (see detailed description of the invention, third para.).
Therefore it would have been obvious to persons skilled in the art before the effective filing date to combine (andiroba) oil also known to those skilled in the art as Carapa guianensis oil in with the trehalose as a combined cosmetic composition because Hoon teaches that Carapa guianensis oil (aka andiroba oil) has wrinkle inhibiting effects along with collagen synthesis and collagenase inhibiting effects and is used in topical applications. Additionally, Ohtake teaches trehalose is used in cosmetics as a moisturizing agent and is used in cosmetics to preserve the cosmetic products storability and to mask odors of active ingredients. It would have been obvious to include guaçatonga extract in a cosmetic composition because Arroteia teaches this extract can treat aging skin and has beneficial properties such as increasing elastin, collagen type 1, and hyaluronic acid expression. Additionally, including a preservative such as silicone dioxide, which is not trehalose would have been obvious to preserve the cosmetic composition, as discussed by Arroteia.
Response to Arguments
Applicant's arguments filed 07/02/2026 have been fully considered but they are not persuasive. The applicant argues that an obviousness type rejection is more than a mere showing that the prior art includes separate references covering each separate limitation and that it Hoon teaches adding trehalose in cosmetic compositions to enhance their storage stability and to mask the odor of active ingredients and their degradation products, if any are produced. The applicant argues that the Office does not explain why one would be motivated to add trehalose to Hoon’s composition if the andiroba oil already serves as a stabilizing preservative. The preservative action of trehalose may indeed be working as a preservative through separate mechanisms of action as it is known that different preservatives stabilize compositions through different means. For instance, trehalose is described as masking the odor of active ingredients and enhancing storage stability, whereas other preservatives may protect against oxidation of active ingredients and/or protecting from ultraviolet damage or allowing the actives to retain potency. It is prima facie obvious to combine equivalents known to have the same activity to thus increase the activity in a composition. Furthermore, trehalose is also known for its activities for the consumer such as protecting cell membranes. Trehalose is a known moisturizing agent which allows the skin to maintain water on the outer layer of skin.
The applicant argues that one would not optimize to the at least 1% andiroba oil as required of the instant invention because Hoon teaches a range which spans a range of 5 orders of magnitude) 0.0001-10 weight percent. Hoon gives working examples of including the oil in amounts at 1% and teaches it as being effective for skin whitening or anti-wrinkle activities, thus including in this amount would take no optimization required as it meets the limitation.
Conclusion
Currently no claims are allowed.
Applicant's amendment necessitated the new ground(s) of rejection presented in this Office action. Accordingly, THIS ACTION IS MADE FINAL. See MPEP § 706.07(a). Applicant is reminded of the extension of time policy as set forth in 37 CFR 1.136(a).
A shortened statutory period for reply to this final action is set to expire THREE MONTHS from the mailing date of this action. In the event a first reply is filed within TWO MONTHS of the mailing date of this final action and the advisory action is not mailed until after the end of the THREE-MONTH shortened statutory period, then the shortened statutory period will expire on the date the advisory action is mailed, and any nonprovisional extension fee (37 CFR 1.17(a)) pursuant to 37 CFR 1.136(a) will be calculated from the mailing date of the advisory action. In no event, however, will the statutory period for reply expire later than SIX MONTHS from the mailing date of this final action.
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JACOB A BOECKELMANExaminer, Art Unit 1655
/ANAND U DESAI/Supervisory Patent Examiner, Art Unit 1655
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