Product Upgrade - Acne Control Kit
Dr. Sivak has finished reformulationg the products in our Acne Control Kit and has added a number of new ingredients. The new ingredients will be available for purchase on their own next month.
T-Zone ingredients: Ultramarine sea kelp bioferment, azeloyl glycine (accelerates skin renewal, keeps pores open), niacinamide (anti-inflammatory, anti-itch), EGCG from green tea (decreases sebum secretion), nobiletin.
Anti-acne cream ingredients: Ultramarine sea kelp bioferment, saw palmetto extract (inhibits 5 alpha-reductase activity and conversion of testosterone to dihydrotestosterone, inhibits binding of dihydrotestosterone to androgen receptor)., niacinamide, white willow bark extract, liquorice extract, green tea extract, beta glucan (enhances immune response), wild yam extract,
oleuropein,
nobiletin, retinyl acetate (accelerates skin renewal, keeps pores open).
ZITender (emergency gel): Ultramarine sea kelp bioferment, EGCG from green tea,
oleuropein, galangal (antibacterial) and white willow extract (antibacterial), Zinc PCA (anti-inflammatory, antibacterial), Coleus essential oil (antibacterial),
granulysin.
What the newly added actives can do about acne
Nobiletin (3',4',5,6,7,8-hexamethoxyflavone) inhibits synthesis of the type of fats (triglycerides) that is food for the acne bacterium and slows down proliferation of fat cells. It also has antibacterial activity. I think that in the near future you will hear a lot more about nobiletin, which also seems to have anti-aging and anti-tumor activity. Note: many thanks to the client who brought nobiletin to my attention.
Oleuropein is a chemical extracted from the olive tree (Olea Europea) that has anti-inflammatory activity; it also inhibits arachidonic acid-induced edema, and is an antioxidant.
Granulysin is an antibacterial protease that will increase penetration of the other ZITender actives.
Beta glucan enhances the immune response. The stimulating effect of these carbohydrates is not acquired through encounters with pathogens the way we acquire immunity to most microorganisms, but is innate, i.e. present in our genetic make-up. When we come in contact with beta glucans, our immune system seems to activate so that, when we come in contact with a pathogen, we are better able to deal with it and stop an infection.
Ultramarine seakelp bioferment: adds Porphyridium and Arthrospira extracts, and fucoidan (for more information please see July newsletter), increasing the antioxidant and anti-inflammatory power of sea kelp.
References:
Johann, S., de OliveiraV.L., Pizzolatti, M.G., Schripsema, J. Braz-Filho, R. Branco, A., Smânia A. Jr (2007) Antimicrobial activity of wax and hexane extracts from Citrus spp. peels. Memorias Instituto Oswaldo Cruz: 102: 681-685
Sato T, Takahashi A, Kojima M, Akimoto N., Masamichi Y., and Ito, A. (2007) A citrus polymethoxy flavonoid, nobiletin inhibits sebum production and sebocyte proliferation, and augments sebum excretion in hamsters. J. Inv. Dermatology, 127: 2740-2748
Tanaka S, Sato T, Akimoto N, Yano M, Ito A (2004) Prevention of UVB-induced photoinflammation and photoaging by a polymethoxy flavonoid, nobiletin, in human keratinocytes in vivo and in vitro Biochemical Pharmacology 68: 433-439
Kollár, R, Reinhold B.B., Petráková, E. , Yeh, H.J.C., Ashwell, G., Drgonová, J., Kapteyn, J.C., Klis, F.M. and Cabib, Enrico (1997) Architecture of the Yeast Cell wall beta (1-->6)-glucan interconnects mannoprotein, beta (1-->3)-glucan, and chitin. Journal Biological Chemistry: 272: 17762-17775.
Kougias, Panagiotis; Wei, Duo; Rice, Peter J.; Ensley, Harry E.; Kalbfleisch, John; Williams, David L.; Browder, I. William (2001) Normal human fibroblasts express pattern recognition receptors for fungal (1-->3)-beta-D-glucans. Infection and Immunity: 69: 3933-3938.
Brown, Gordon D.; Gordon, Siamon (2001) Immune recognition: A new receptor for beta-glucans. Nature (London, United Kingdom) 413: 36-37.
From Hannah's Blog
I wish my Biochemistry students at MSU cared as much about chirality as the consumers of skin care products!
The impact of marketing is clear in the questions I get via email.
Some molecules exist in mirror forms (D and L). These molecules have at least one asymmetric carbon atom, i.e. a carbon atom that has each of its four bonds occupied by four different atoms or groups of atoms. Ascorbic acid is one such molecule. L-ascorbic acid means that the compound’s stereochemistry is related to that of the levorotatory enantiomer of glyceraldehyde.
Please see – http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Chirality_(chemistry)
Regarding chirality of ascorbic acid and skin care, there are two questions
1) Does it matter whether a chemical is D or L? Yes, it does, because the special distribution of atoms is part of the structure of the chemical and will determine some of its properties.
2) Does it matter whether you are using the L- stereoisomer or a racemic (a mix of D and L isomers) of ascorbic acid on your skin? No. When no enzymes are involved either isomer will do. You need a minute amount of L-ascorbic acid, a cofactor for enzymes involved in the hydroxylation of pro-collagen amino acid residues. A racemic mix of ascorbic acid will have will have more than enough L-isomer to do the job and it is much less expensive. We have chosen our ascorbic acid to be very fresh (reduced) and in very fine crystals so that it can do a better job.
Natural ingredients are the “right” chirality. If I “worry” about a particular chemical’s chirality, I get the “correct” chirality. If I am not worried about it, I don’t bother getting it. It matters, for example, for vitamin E. as a small percentage of people can become allergic to the “wrong” stereoisomer of vitamin E.
Because I am a biochemist, I am very familiar with chirality, stereoisomers, etc.
Chirality is first taught with amino acids (all the amino acids in proteins are L-) and soon after with sugars (most sugars in humans are D-). So sodium hyaluronate, if anything, would be a D-, but the nomenclature is not really used for polysaccharides. Same for superoxide dismutase, biochemists don’t use L- or D- for proteins (although proteins are made of L-amino acids).
I find it easy to tell whether a text has been written by marketing people or by scientists, the language is so different! Marketing people use “absolute” terms. A real scientist knows enough to know that he/she (in this case) does not know enough to promise you “purity”.
Why do we tell you that an ingredient is L- or D-? Because for those ingredients it is part of the chemical name.
When a chemical is made in the laboratory by organic synthesis, it will be a mix of the two steroisomers. If a chemical is made in the laboratory by fermentation, the chiral composition will depend on the microbe and the main synthetic pathway. Incidentally, some chemical may have several stereoisomers, if the have more than one “asymmetric” carbon.
About chiral technology: the term should be reserved for very specific work done by organic chemists trying to direct organic synthesis towards a particular stereoisomer. As far as I know, that technology is not used for skin care ingredients, because it would be too expensive. It makes a lot more sense, at least for the time being, to purify the ingredient from natural materials, usually crops like wheat or rice.
Check out Hannah's Blog at
http://www.skinactives.com/blog/index.php