Introduction

Wounds that affect the full thickness of the skin, including the deep dermis, heal with scar formation Griffon et al., (2011). The significance of these is variable, ranging from minimal scarring to excessive scarring (hypertrophic or keloid). Acne scars (Courtillon et al., 2002, p. 23) are a frequent complication with great social and psychological implications for the individual, so attention should be directed to the timely and aggressive management of severe forms of acne, thus avoiding, as far as possible, their appearance. Acne is a frequent, inflammatory, chronic and multifactorial disease Ferrandez et al., (2017) that usually occurs in adolescents and may be due among other factors to poor nutrition Valois-Cuesta et al., (2016) worldwide there is a peak prevalence of 85% between 12 and 24 years of age. In patients over 25 years of age the prevalence is 3% in men and 12% in women; in patients over 45 years of age this percentage decreases and can be as low as 1%. On the other hand, hypertrophic and keloid scarring Obón et al. (2012) have been a problem for surgeons since ancient times; many factors have been involved as etiological and multiple treatments have been proposed. However, the issue is not resolved, no treatment is completely safe and research continues day by day.

Natural medicinal products are part of a new health care trend that is currently in greater demand in the community, which is why they are an appropriate option that responsibly uses the benefits of nature in favor of man. The purga mosquera or Croton elegans Kunth (Toimil et al., 2016, p. 50) is a plant that is characterized by disinfecting wounds due to its antibacterial properties; it helps healing; its latex helps heal mouth sores and can also be used in infusion to treat tonsillitis. However, this plant is not currently used for medicinal use Marson et al., (2013) because its properties and health benefits are unknown, due to the fact that for the treatment of acne, burns, itching, skin inflammation, spots, rashes, skin ulcerations or sores, the most commonly used plants are aloe, teatine, chamomile, avocado, lemon balm, bitter tea, matico, soursop, soursop, air leaf, orange.

According to the catalog of Vascular Plants of Ecuador Imbernón-Moya et al., (2018) purga is an endemic species belonging to the family Euphorbiaceae, located mainly in the provinces of Carchi, Imbabura; Pichincha and Tungurahua. It develops as a bush or small perennial shrub, erect stem, glandular, sticky, highly branched and fast growing (up to more than 1 meter high). Its leaves are oblong lanceolate and slightly toothed, light green, spotted and brittle, dark brown during flowering. Several studies in recent years have analyzed alternatives from the ancestral culture, as is the case of the purga mosquera, to demonstrate its properties for possible use as an effective alternative to certain skin conditions. A specialized study of the Research Group of Technology and Pharmaceutical Care of the Escuela Superior Politécnica de Chimborazo Rojas & Iglesias, (2019) demonstrates through an evaluation with the Tukey test with a significance level of 0.05% that the 80% ethanolic extract of purga mosquera exhibits total reconstitution of tissue in less time, demonstrating healing activity.

With all the above mentioned, the present work proposes the elaboration and commercialization of a healing cream based on the mosquera purgative that intends to contribute to the collaborative economy García et al. in Ecuador, improving the quality of life of the communities immersed in the production areas of these crops, establishing in the future organizations of the popular and solidarity economy (2014, p. 35). The proposed product is intended for men and women from 6 months of age, since it is a topical natural product without restrictions. The document is organized as follows: in the Materials and Methods section, the characteristics and benefits of the product are addressed, as well as the market study, population and sample. The Results section defines the components of the product, the tabulation and results of the surveys. In the Discussion section, the main results are interpreted and countered. Finally, the conclusions and proposed future work are established.

Materials and methods

The methodology presented in this work Ribera & Fernández-Chico, (2013) contemplates as main stages the idea of the product through the blue ocean strategy, where the construction of markets in places not currently exploited is identified, and which provide opportunities for sustained and profitable growth in the long term, the product design, the market study with a survey as an instrument and the respective tabulation and interpretation for the description of results. It is proposed the elaboration of a healing cream based on the purga mosquera plant, Figure 1, which has an accessible price and provides a natural alternative to the problem of scars on the skin.

Figure 1. Mosquera Purge Plant

The main characteristics and benefits of the product are shown in Table 1.

Table 1 Characteristics vs. Benefits

Product	Features	Benefits
Healing cream based on the purga mosquera plant enriched with aloe vera or oatmeal and vitamin E.	· Antibacterial properties · Latex	· Contributes to healing · Supports skin hydration · Acts as a coagulant in wounds. · Helps disinfect wounds · Helps heal cold sores

The market to be covered for the development of the project will be in Ecuador with 17'363,499 inhabitants, Sierra region with 7'622,019, province of Pichincha, city of Quito with 2'573,922 inhabitants, La Delicia area taking into account the population of the neighborhoods of Ponceano, Carcelén, Condado, Cotocollao with 259.713 inhabitants; represented by families, which through the Ecuadorian Institute of Statistics and Census (INEC) establishes that the average income per family is $735.49 with an average of 4 members in 2019. For the calculation of the sample, the population size of 64,928 families was taken as a reference, therefore being a finite population, the formula (1) observed in the equation will be used, whose application with 95% confidence and 0.05 error, yields a result of 383 people. A survey of 18 questions directly related to the product, price, place and promotion was applied as an instrument (see Appendix A).

The following section presents the results obtained in the surveys.

Result

The healing cream based on the purga mosquera plant and other components that help to preserve it are detailed in Table 2 with an average monthly inventory level that will be adjusted to supply and demand with the break-even point. The cream will be based mainly on quality, which will be guaranteed by a professional chemist, according to the NTE INEN 2867 standard, performing the following analyses for quality control and marketing: microbiological analysis, physical and chemical analysis.

Product	Monthly Amount
Mosquera Purge	1.15 kg
Aloe Vera	1 gallon
Vitamin E	0.66 grams
Cera Alba	2 kg
Distilled water	1 gallon
Natural essence (mint)	0.5 grams
Lanolin	1 liter
Plastic bottles	700 units
Label	700 units

Once the survey was applied, it was found that 383 people, 133 men and 250 women, use cosmetics. As for the type of cosmetics used, divided into two categories such as facial and body cosmetics, 61.62% and 38.38% of the respondents said they used natural cosmetics rather than chemical ones. On the other hand, 93.99% prefer natural cosmetics to chemical cosmetics. With respect to the frequency of purchase, it can be observed that 49.61% make a semi-annual purchase. While 46.74% buy monthly and 3.66% fortnightly. Regarding the perception of products made with natural components, 38.4% have a very good perception, 30.8% excellent, 28.7% good and 2.1% bad.

It should be noted that 96.% of the respondents answered that they would be willing to buy this type of cosmetics. It can be observed that more than 50% have acceptability in this question and in this case is 96.1% can enter a blue ocean competing with natural cosmetics of high standards. However, it can be observed that 90.9% of respondents do not know the properties of the purgative mosquera plant.

90.3% of respondents consider it important to consume products that are healing, antibacterial, that help eliminate cold sores and warts. And 92.7% consider it as a purchase decision. In addition, 84.6% do not know suppliers of products with these characteristics. For the remaining 15.4% who do know suppliers mainly include stores, factories, street vendors and others.

When asked about the most appropriate place to purchase this type of product, they mentioned pharmacies (46.2%), supermarkets (36.6%), other places (11.5%) and factories (5.7%).

In addition, respondents mentioned that the characteristics they value most when making a purchase are quality (61.6%), recommendations (17.2%), product precedence (11.5%), price (5.7%) and finally after-sales service (3.9%). It is also recorded that 57.7% are not satisfied with the current product and 43.3% are satisfied. On the other hand, it can be observed that 63.4% of people find out about the sale of new products through social networks, 11.7% through friends, 10.2% through TV, 9.1% through relatives, 3.1% and others 2.3%. Table 3 shows the value that respondents paid the last time for a face cream.

Table 3 Prices

Price Range	Men	Women	%
$1-$5		5	7,6%
$6-$11			30,8%
$12-$15	28	82	28,7%
$16-$20	42		32,9%
Total			100,0%

Currently in Ecuador the purga mosquera is not used as a healing cream due to the lack of knowledge of its properties and that other plants are more recognized, for this reason it is important to emphasize that this product is a blue ocean.

In addition, as can be seen in the results of the surveys, both men and women use cosmetic products, so the product has possibilities in the cosmetic market, since the current trend is to take care of one's image. The results show that facial creams are used in a higher percentage than body creams, due to the fact that this is the part most exposed to the environment, which is why it is feasible to launch a facial cream presentation. On the other hand, potential customers prefer to use natural cosmetics, which is already a defining characteristic of the proposed product based on the purge.

Regarding the frequency of use, it was determined that the majority of respondents purchase the products every six months. People consider natural cosmetics as very good and excellent products, so to enter the market the product must have high quality standards, to provide buyers with an excellent product. However, it is observed that 90.9% do not know the benefits of this plant, which makes the cream novel on the one hand, but on the other hand, awareness campaigns should be carried out to make known the benefits of this plant, comparing its effectiveness with other similar products, since 84.6% do not know where to buy this type of creams, which would make it easier to put points of sale accessible to potential buyers. It should also be emphasized that the respondents prefer to buy the products in pharmacies and supermarkets, which indicates that distribution agreements should be made at the different established points.

Specifically, the product should be elaborated in 50ML presentation since it is the presentation that the client prefers, as well as the container that will be used for the cream will be made of plastic according to the responses obtained. The price will be established in a range of $16 to $20 that future buyers are willing to pay. As an opportunity, the 57.7% of people who are not satisfied with the product they are currently using should be investigated in depth in order to meet their expectations and satisfy their needs. The promotion should be carried out mainly on social networks with 63.4% of acceptance.

Conclusions

The purga mosquera or Croton elegans Kunth is an endemic Ecuadorian plant located mainly in the highlands region that has healing properties discovered through ancestral knowledge which has generated the birth of studies in recent years to verify the effectiveness of these scientifically, one of which shows that the 80% ethanolic extract of purga mosquera exposes total reconstitution of tissue in less time demonstrating healing activity. This plant is not currently used as a base for facial creams due to the lack of knowledge of its properties and to the fact that other plants have traditionally occupied this field, for example: aloe vera, theatine, chamomile, avocado, lemon balm, bitter tea, matico, soursop, air leaf, orange.

For this benefit of the plant, we propose the development and marketing of a healing cream enriched with Aloe Vera and vitamin E in order to help healing, skin moisturizing and control of cold sores, being a product in blue ocean. For this purpose, a market study has been conducted in the area of La Delicia city of Quito to 383 people with a survey of 18 questions as an instrument, which cover product features, price, place and promotion.

The results show that 100% of people buy cosmetics, mostly facial cosmetics, preferably natural rather than chemical. It should be noted that 96.% of those surveyed responded that they would be willing to buy this type of cosmetics even though they do not know the properties of the purga mosquera plant. This purchase would be made mainly in pharmacies, supermarkets and factories. With a presentation in a 50ml plastic container in a price range of $16 to $20 and advertising in social networks.

Finally, it is recommended to encourage this type of initiatives that allow the generation of innovative products that provide effective and economic solutions, rescuing ancestral knowledge and above all improving the lives of the communities near or directly related to this type of crops. As future work, it is intended to establish a pilot plan to commercialize the product and analyze alternative markets, both geographically and for new lines based on this wonderful plant, such as the purga mosquera, in addition to analyzing strategies to enter the public health system to improve the perception of services (Silva et al., 2020) among the citizens.

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