Home> ¦Á-Arbutin	Last update: Dec 17,2008
Contact person: Mr.Xu Hai Ke	¦Á-Arbutin (Alpha Arbutin) Natural,Safe,and Effective The Pioneering Whitening Agent in the 21st Century
Tel : +86 791 6504259
Fax : +86 791 6511571

¦Á-Arbutin is a new type of active compound for beautifying and whitening the skin. ¦Á-Arbutin can be rapidly absorbed into the skin and selectively inhibit the activity of tyrosinase, therefore obstruct the melanogenesis without altering the normal growth of the epidermic cell or inhibiting the expression of tyrosinase itself. Meanwhile, ¦Á- Arbutin also promotes decomposition and excretion of melanin, therefore, reduces the deposition of skin pigment and removes color spots and freckles. The ¦Á-Arbutin involved processes neither produce hydroquinone, nor have other side effects including toxicity, irritation and sensitization of the skin. These properties result in ¦Á-Arbutin being the safest and most effective skin-whitening and spot-removing substance developed to date. ¦Á-Arbutin also helps disinfect and moisturize the skin and eliminate inflammation. It helps the wounded skin recover as well. These properties make ¦Á-Arbutin an essential cosmetic ingredient for many applications.

Mechanisms of Skin Whitening

White and radiant skin has always been one of the gold standards for a beauty. It is well known that the color of skin is due to level of melanin and rate of blood flow in and under the skin. Color spots and skin pigmentation are directly related to melanin
pigmentation.

Melanin is produced by melanocytes in top layer of the skin. It protects prickle cells and basal cells beneath from UV rays by absorbing and reflecting irradiation energy. Melanin shields basal cells from being hurt, burnt or mutated. The unharmed basal cells can then propagate and differentiate to form healthy and elastic skin. If the capability of melanin synthesis decreases, the skin will become more sensitive to UV rays. This is believed to be the reason that skin cancers occur more often in European countries than that in African countries. Therefore, a safe and effective whitening product must not alter melanocytes while inhibiting melanin formation. ¦Á-Arbutin is exactly such a product.

¦Á-Arbutin inhibits the activity of mammalian tyrosinase through a mixed mechanism of action. It selectively inhibits tyrosinase without affecting the genetic expression of tyrosinase itself and it doesn¡¯t disturb the normal growth of the epidermic cells and melanocytes. Further more, the ¦Á-Arbutin involved processes do not produce hydroquinone, which makes ¦Á-Arbutin a safe and highly effective tyrosinase inhibitor.

Efficacy Tests

The test result of the selective inhibition of tyrosinase in Vitro shows that ¦Á-Arbutin¡¯s inhibition (IC50=2.1mM) toward mammalian tyrosinase is 10 times more active than the beta isomer- ¦Â-Arbutin£¨IC50£¾30.0mM£©.

Human Skin Melanin Study The skin melanin levels of 34 volunteers were studied by Chengzhi Life Science Co., Ltd., to compare the effect of ¦Á-Arbutin with that of ¦Â-Arbutin. The study demonstrated that 1% ¦Á-Arbutin has a faster and more pronounced skin lightening effect than 7% ¦Â-Arbutin. After one month of application the melanin levels of ¦Á-Arbutin users were significantly lower than those of before the application, which meant that ¦Á-Arbutin not only inhibited the stain formation, it also helped to dissolve the pigmentation. Theses two mechanisms make ¦Á-Arbutin superior to its beta isomer. The L value is an index for measuring skin color. When skin color becomes lightened, L value also increases. Human Skin Melanin Study on 34 volunteers demonstrated that ¦Á-Arbutin helped inhibit the stain formation in the process of stain forming, while it obviously helped accelerate dissolve the igmentation in the process of spontaneous regression. Human Trials on Removing Liver Spots In a 3-month study on 26 female volunteers, 2 % ¦Á-Arbutin was used in a cream formulation to minimize liver spots. The study demonstrated that ¦Á-Arbitin is much more effective than beta isomer in minimizing liver spots. After 3 months of usage, over 50% of the cases showed significant improvement in liver spot, a percentage higher than the ¦Â-Arbutin group.

The Differences between ¦Á(alpha)-Arbutin and ¦Â(beta)-Arbutin

	¦Á(alpha)-Arbutin	¦Â(beta)-Arbutin
Chemical name	4-hydroxyphenyl-¦Á -glucopyranoside	4-hydroxyphenyl- ¦Â-glucopyranoside
Molecular structure
IC50£¨mM£©	2.1	£¾30.0
Ki (mM)	0.2	4.2
Mammalian Tyrosinase	Inhibiting	Inhibiting
Tyrosinase of mushrooms	Non-inhibiting	Inhibiting
Mechanism of Inhibition	Mixed inhibition	Competitive inhibition
Absorbability	Good	Not good
Light stability	Good	Not good
Effect on the growth of melanocytes£¨1m M£©	Non-inhibiting	Inhibiting
Time of application	Day and night	Night
Long term side effects	None	Melanocytes degeneration and reduction of in vivo defense against UV raidiation
Dissolvability	Good	Not good
Stability of water solution	Stable	Oxidized rapidly
Product Specifications
INCI NAME: alpha-Arbutin
Description	White crystalline powder
Assay	£¾99.0%
Loss on Drying	¡Ü0.5%
Residue on Ignition	¡Ü0.5%
Melting Point	202.0¡æ¡«212.0¡æ
Specific Rotation[¦Á]D20	+174.0¡ã¡«+186.0¡ã
dissolution	214g/L water£¨25¡æ£©
	71 g/L methanol £¨25¡æ£©
	21 g/L alcohol £¨25¡æ£©
Transparency of water solution	Clear in 1% water solution with no suspended matter
Microorganism and Heavy Metal
Heavy metal	¡Ü20 mg/kg
Aerobic plate count	¡Ü1000 CFU/g

The Safety Tests of ¦Á-Arbutin as a Cosmetic Substance

The safety of ¦Á-Arbutin as a cosmetic substance was tested according to international and Chinese standards. The tests included toxicity, skin stimulus, skin allergy, skin photo-toxicity and Human body patch tests and human clinical trials. All the results of the tests prove that ¦Á-Arbutin is safe for cosmetic use.

The Stability of ¦Á-Arbutin in Water Solution

The water solution of ¦Á-Arbutin remains stable, especially between PH3.5 and 6.5.

Storage and Shelf Life

¦Á-Arbutin should be stored in the original sealed containers protected from light and humidity at a temperature between 10 and 30¡ãC. If stored under the recommended conditions. ¦Á-Arbutin remains stable for 2 years.

Processing and Dosage Recommendations

We recommend a dosage of 1¡«3%. A better result can be expected when ¦Á-Arbutin is formulated with sunscreen agent or alcohol. ¦Á-Arbutin can be added either in water directly or be added at the last step of formulation. In either process please keep the temperature below 70¡æ at all times.

High quality product and superior service are guaranteed. We will provide you with all the experimental data regarding the safety and efficacy of ¦Á-Arbutin when you choose the product. Thank you very much for your interest in our products. We hope to cooperate with you to provide the ingredients you need for your new product development.