By KAHO MATSUDA/ Staff Writer
January 31, 2022 at 08:00 JST
MAEBASHI--A lotion that uses an extract from hornet cocoons is helping to nail a problem that has long afflicted athletes striving to put in top-notch performances: painful broken nails.
Working with the Gunma Industrial Technology Center, Art Co. in Kiryu, Gunma Prefecture, processed hornet silk, a substance left in hives after hornets emerge from their cocoons, with fiber treatment technology.
Hornet cocoons are made primarily of a protein called keratin, a fibrous protein that promotes nail growth in the natural world.
Gunma Sports Management, which operates the Gunma Diamond Pegasus Baseball Club, signed a contract with Art for exclusive use of the protective lotion for the team, which is a member of the independent professional Baseball Challenge League.
“My hope is that the lotion will find broad use in sports communities,” said Hisao Ito, president of Art, at a joint news conference held at the Gunma prefectural government office here in December. “I simply want athletes to achieve good results with it.”
The lotion works best when applied to the cuticles and gently rubbed in. This helps to prevent broken nails in situations like throwing a ball.
The lotion also uses other ingredients, such as membrane from egg shells of hens, which enhances nail coating ability. The cosmetic version of the product does not include those ingredients, the company said.
The lotion for use by athletes was declared free of prohibited substances by the World Anti-Doping Agency (WADA), allowing athletes to rest easy when using it.
The exclusive use contract represented an initial step in a “corporate partnership” program under which the baseball team forms ties with businesses in Gunma Prefecture to promote and raise the profiles of local companies through the club’s performance and help to revitalize local industries.
Products produced locally that are used by team members will also be sold on a website and a sales promotion campaign will be staged at game venues, according to Gunma Sports Management.
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A nail protective lotion that uses an extract from hornet cocoons on display at the Gunma prefectural government office in Maebashi on Dec. 23. The tube-type product for use by athletes contains additional ingredients, including egg shell membrane. (Kaho Matsuda)
