FINAL year pharmacy students from Charles Sturt University have turned mango seeds into skincare products.
Australia produces 60,000 tonnes a year of mango waste a year.
Enter Emily Guo, Lucy Hawkins, Haidy Ibrahim and Mollie Gersbach.
The quartet of students based in the NSW central west city of Orange wanted to work out how to repurpose the nation's mango seed waste.
Associate Professor Maree Donna Simpson, the Discipline Leader in pharmacy and health studies at CSU, kick-started the student project.
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She said it was a CSU Green sustainability research grant she was awarded that inspired the creation of the study.
"We knew mango oil had a similar spectrum of activity to cocoa butter and shea butter - both already well-known as nice moisturising agents," Professor Simpson said.
"We wanted to see if our students could use what is typically treated as a waste product - a mango seed - into something more resourceful, for instance, a moisturiser.
"After being awarded the CSU Green grant, we called on Orange residents to donate their unwanted mango seeds and peels.
"Thanks to the generous support of CSU Green, and the individuals and businesses in Orange who donated their mango seeds, our students were able to work on this innovative and unique project."
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