14 DAY TRIAL // For the billions of people living in Asia, having a fairer complexion is one of the main demands the population has of pharmaceutical and cosmetic companies. Their demands could be satisfied more naturally in the near future, thanks to a new discovery made by researchers in Taiwan.
While analyzing the Cinnamomum subavenium plant, experts from the Kaohsiung Medical University, led by study researcher Hui-Min Wang, managed to identify two substances that could augment the efficiency of skin-whitening creams many people use.
Asian needs for beauty products run in direct contrast to those of the Western world, where demand is high for products that provide the perfect tan. Asian women mostly prefer creams that give them a paler appearance.
At this point, existing whitening creams use dangerous chemicals such as hydroquinone and mercury to enable their effects. But substances such as these are carcinogens, studies have revealed. In addition, they cause a host of other side-effects.
These include itching, skin cancer and inflammation. As such, producers have been looking for a more natural alternative to these chemicals for many years. The Cinnamomum subavenium plant may have just provided them with the break they needed.
In experiments conducted on zebrafish, researcher Hui-Min Wang and the Taiwan group found that administering the two chemicals to the animals reduced the production of a skin pigment called melaning by up to 50 percent.
In just 4 days, the zebrafish were white as snow, the expert says. According to a presentation made this week at the annual meeting of the American Chemical Society, in Anaheim, California, the substances work by blocking tyrosinase.
This molecule is an enzyme, which past investigations have proven to play a critical role in the management of melanin production. The pigment is responsible for coloring hair, skin and the eyes.
“It's from a Chinese herbal medicine plant, and we used it for maybe 1,000 or 2,000 years,”the investigator explains for My Health News Daily.
Experts with the research team are convinced this will work on humans as well because the zebrafish pigments are remarkably similar to our own. Clinical trials are scheduled to follow soon, and the first skin-whitening creams containing the two new chemicals may hit the market within a couple of years.