Lightening GEL

Caesalpinia Spinosa, commonly known as Tara, is native to Peru. Its extract contains tannins and polyphenols, so it has the natural ability to inhibit melanin production. As shown in Fig. 3 Ceasalpina Spinosa extract has demonstrated efficacy in reducing melanin content and has shown potential as a novel ingredient for skin lightening products [2].

A Synergic Effect of the Blend of Hypoxis Rooperi Rhizome Extract and Caesalpinia Spinosa Extract:

The results illustrated in Table 1 show that the synergistic effect of Hypoxis Rooperi Rhizome extract and Caesalpinia Spinosa extract resulted in a significant decrease in tyrosine hydroxylase (TH) and dopa-oxidase activities when compared to kojic acid, which had little effect at that low concentration [1]. Furthermore, the melanin content for this blend was lower than kojic acid, with this effect being even more noticeable in Alpha-Melanocyte Stimulating Hormone (α-MSH) treated cells.

Table 1. Effect of active fraction from a blend of Hypoxis Rooperi Rhizome extract and Caesalpinia Spinosa extract on B16 basal melanocytes [1].

The complex of Saxifraga Sarmentosa, Papaya and Guava Extracts, inhibit tyrosinase enzyme activity. According to a study, skin therapy using Saxifraga Sarmentosa, Papaya and Guava extracts are more than three times more effective than kojic acid to prevent melanin formation (Fig. 6). The chromametry assessment of ∆L* & ITA° on the face & the untreated neck control site revealed that the whitening efficiency of 2% mixture of Saxifraga Sarmentosa, Papaya and Guava extracts is considerably better than 2% kojic acid in another investigation on 32 Indian ladies ages between 30-60 (Fig. 7) [6].In vitro study                                                                                                                  

Fig 7. Chromametry measurement of ∆L* & ITA° on the face & the untreated neck control site. whitening efficacy of 2% of the mixture of Saxifraga sarmentosa, Papaya and Guava extracts vs. 2% kojic acid [6].

Mulberry extract is a natural potent antioxidant from the Morus alba plant. It was reported that Mulberry is rich in flavonoids, which act as a tyrosinase activity inhibitor. The study showed that the flavonoids found in Mulberry have a structure similar to the dihydroxyphenyl group of DOPA, thus enabling it to inhibit the tyrosinase enzyme activity at the distal portion of the melanogenesis pathway. As shown in Fig. 10, from baseline to week 8, the mexameter value for the Mulberry extract oil group decreased compared to placebo group, demonstrating a lightening of the pigmentation [9].

Lemon extract shows a significant antioxidant activity that is responsible for preventing melanin biosynthesis. This is due to the presence of principle bioactive compounds, including hesperidin and ascorbic acid, abundantly found in the peel of lemon fruits [13]. Various components of citrus peel extract (CPE) are also suggested to exert inhibitory effects in skin aging through diverse mechanisms, including inhibition of collagenase activity, induction of procollagen synthesis, anti-inflammatory activity and inhibition of melanogenesis [14]. The result of its inhibitory effect in Fig. 12 reveals that the inhibitory activity of tyrosinase after treatment with citrus peel extract was shown to be higher than that of kojic acid at high doses.

Vitamin A derivatives are lipid-soluble compounds, including retinol, retinal, retinyl acetate, retinyl linoleate and retinyl palmitate (RP) [17]. Vitamin A has a lightening property on human skin. For this reason, it has been used to treat hyperpigmented lesions [18]. As shown in Fig. 15, a reduction in melanin content of B16 melanoma cells after five days of Vitamin A treatment was reported [19]. Significant improvement in Vitamin A-treated patients was also reported in another investigation on the overall response of melasma to Vitamin A (Fig. 16) [20].

Fig 16. The overall response of melasma to Vitamin A or vehicle [20].