With less than two months to go before the event, Antioxidant Symposium chairman Roger McMullen was concerned that only a handful of chemists had registered for the event—he needn’t have worried. By the time the Symposium took place on the 40th floor of Building 7 at the World Trade Center complex in New York City on June 5, there were more than 200 attendees and some would-be registrants had to be turned away.

“Throughout the day, the auditorium was at full capacity,” noted McMullen of Ashland Specialty Ingredients. “There was not an empty seat in the house, not even during the closing remarks of the symposium. Overall, the day was a great success.”

Attendees were drawn to the excellent program that included more than a dozen presentations by leading authorities in and outside the industry, along a poster session, which awarded two first place prizes of $1,500 to Dr. Diana Change of Rutgers University and Drs. Ed Pelle and Qi Zhang of Estée Lauder Companies. Two second place prizes of $1,000 were awarded to Dr. Jean-Marie Botto of Ashland Specialty Ingredients and Julian Silverman of City College of New York, CUNY.

The event was even attended by the IFSCC Praesidium, which is the governing body of the International Federation of Societies of Cosmetic Chemists (IFSCC). The Praesidium meets twice a year to discuss important IFSCC issues. This year the organization elected to hold its spring meeting in New York City in conjunction with the NYSCC Antioxidant Symposium. 

McMullen served double-duty; he was chairman as well as the first speaker of the symposium, during which he discussed antioxidants and the skin.  He reviewed antioxidants with proven efficacy as skin treatments, including L-ascorbic acid, polyphenols and silymarin, and he explained how to measure antioxidant efficacy using such techniques as electron spin resonance, in-vitro assays, in-vitro cell cultures and tissue studies, ex vivo experiments and in vivo experiments.

Questions that must be answered prior to developing formulas with antioxidants include:

• Is the antioxidant present to preserve the formulation or is the antioxidant intended to be bioavailable to the skin?
• Do we understand the penetration characteristics of the antioxidant? To which layer will it be delivered?
• Will the antioxidant remain stable over the shelf life of the formulation?
• Is there an intended target for the antioxidant; i.e., is it a free radical scavenger? Will it target a specific reactive oxygen species (ROS)?

Another formulation consideration is the polar paradox; e.g., polar antioxidants are more efficacious in bulk oil systems (because they migrate to the interphase); while nonpolar antioxidants are more effective in systems with a substantial aqueous phase.
But regardless of formulation issues, antioxidants are here to stay in products.

“A lot more of products, such as sun care, moisturizers and anti-aging creams have antioxidants in them than not,” noted McMullen.
In fact, in a survey conducted of 252 products on drugstore.com, McMullen found that 76% of skin care products contained antioxidants, confirming their popularity.

Edward Pelle of Estée Lauder explained how antioxidants protect against oxidative challenge. He reviewed ROS formation and reaction, and noted that cells have their own ways to ward off oxidation via enzymatic and non-enzymatic defenses and transcriptional regulators.

“Nature does not leave us unprotected,” Pelle advised.

Still, skin requires more than natural protection. He showed how a topically-applied, antioxidant-containing product protects human skin lipids against UVB-induced oxidation, as well as how living skin models can be used for claim substantiation. Pelle went on to show how vitamin E acetate inhibits ozone-induced ROS in normal human epidermal keratinocytes and how cigarette smoke induces oxidation in skin and how it is inhibited by an antioxidant-containing formulation.

“Stay out of the sun, avoid pollution and don’t smoke,” Pelle advised. “Your skin will thank you for it!”

Botanical Options
Cosmetic chemists can improve the efficacy of their sun and skin care formulas by incorporating botanical antioxidants into their products, advised Hasan Mukhtar, University of Wisconsin-Madison. Specifically, he reviewed several antioxidants including green tea polyphenols, pomegranate fruit extract and delphinidin, concluding: “antioxidants really do something in humans!”

For example, EGCG reduces UV-induced erythema in human skin, as well as UV-induced leukocyte infiltration in human skin, while tomato paste, which is rich in lycopene, protects against cutaneous photodamage in humans in vivo, according to Mukhtar.
He reviewed results of studies that demonstrated the photoprotection properties of grape seed proanthocyanidin extract, as well as results of a clinical trial by Murad and Shellow that demonstrated that the topical and oral administration of pomegranate to humans augments the protective effect of sunscreens and affords photoprotection from UVB.

Once a chemist has identified an antioxidant, what’s the best way to deliver it? By utilizing polyphenol-protein complexes, according to Diana Roopchand of Rutgers University and Nutrasorb and Nava Dayan of Dr. Nava Dayan, LLC. Working with Rutgers and North Carolina State universities, researchers combined a variety of fruit pomace extract with soy protein to create Nutrasorb, which contains 5-10% total polyphenols and has applications in functional foods, dietary supplements and cosmetics.
Fruit sources include cranberry, blueberry, grape and green tea. The phytonutrients derived from these sources include anthocyanins, resveratrol and catechins. These materials bind on to the proteins to improve stability, leading to better bioavailability and efficacy.

“We can standardize materials so that we know what we are delivering,” said Roopchand, who noted that food companies are already working with Nutrasorb.

Dayan is bringing the technology to the skin care industry. She noted that Nutrasorb has several advantages in skin care applications, as it can deliver phytoactive compounds in a natural, concentrated, stable and effective form and it gives cosmetic chemists the ability to standardize products to a variety of needs, such as level of phytoactives, physical appearance and antimicrobial activity.

“It has immense validity when thinking of inflammation due to the imbalance of good vs. bad flora,” explained Dayan. “They’re not only safe, they’re good for you. You can eat them. You can even make a concord grape/pomegranate lip product.”

Antioxidants and Acne
Condensed and hydrolysable tannins from raspberry and blackcurrant bush leaves are effective agents to treat acne, while the biotechnological dimerizing of quercetin from a concentrated extract of Sophora japonica stimulates the skin’s natural antioxidant capacity and repairs skin damage, according to Jean-François Molina of Solabia.

In acknowledging the antioxidant power of superfruits such as pomegranate and açai, Molina urged the audience to consider “super leaves” as well.

“There are other parts of the plant that provide protection,” he insisted.

Using patented technology of polyphenol bioconversion, Solabia produces quercetin dimer which, when applied at 0.5%, led to a 20% reduction of Kelch-like ECH-associated protein 1 (Keap1) expression. The material imparted a significant increase of the SOD synthesis in the epidermis (36% vs. placebo), according to Molina. Furthermore, the material, at 0.5%, had better antioxidant capabilities than a cream with 2% vitamin E. That’s because the dimer activates the communication between keratinocytes and fibroblasts, according to Molina.

Measuring Efficacy
Martina Meinke, Charité-Universitäts- medizin Berlin, explained how electron paramagnetic resonance (EPR) spectroscopy may be used to measure the antioxidative effect of orally-applied, water-soluble and lipophilic antioxidants in skin using a Tempo skin probe. Using this method, Meinke found that carotenoids enhance the whole antioxidant network and can serve as a marker substance. She explained that water-soluble antioxidants appear fast in the skin, while lipophilic substances need more time. Furthermore, topical application can increase the antioxidative protection very effectively—but only locally.

After lunch, the keynote lecture was delivered by Prof. Dr. Jean Krutmann of IUF—Leibniz Research Institute for Environmental Medicine, who discussed the damaging effects of infrared radiation on the skin—a novel technological area within the field of antioxidants. Krutmann explained how sunscreens plus antioxidants significantly protect from IRA-induced MMP1 upregulation in human skin. Specifically, he reviewed carnosine and showed results of both in vitro and in vivo studies.

Krutmann’s take-home message to attendees is that IRA protection is necessary and possible with a regimen that includes sunscreens and daily topical and oral photoprotection.

Later on, an intriguing presentation by Dr. Karen Burke, affiliated with Mt. Sinai Medical Center and a practicing dermatologist in New York City, was well received for its scientific merits and insight into pioneering antioxidant technologies. She reviewed how oral and topical doses of l-selenomethionine provides protection against skin cancer, concluding that there is no doubt that topical antioxidants can protect skin from UV and other environmental damage. But in order to assure absorption and activity, cosmetic chemists must use the correct molecular isomer at a high enough concentration, make sure the material is nonesterified and ensure that the formulation is stable.

There was also an introduction to the business side of antioxidants presented by Nikola Matic, a market analyst from Kline & Company. He noted that anti-aging will continue to be a growth driver in the industry, with a CAGR exceeding 5% through 2018. He noted that phytoantioxidants, which account for 60% of the market, are the most consumed antioxidants in the US personal care market.

However, Matic urged attendees to look toward China for future opportunities, noting that the market is expected expand at a CAGR of 11% during the next five years.

A Novel Material from Sytheon
Ratan Chaudhuri, Sytheon Ltd., detailed the preventative and restorative anti-aging and anti-acne properties of topical applications of Bakuchiol, a natural phenolic meroterpene (Phenol, 4-[1E, 3S)-3-ethenyl-3, 7-dimethyl-1, 6-octadienyl; Trade name Sytenol A). Antimicrobial properties of Sytenol A were also detailed. An overview of the various classes of genes, transcription factors, proteins, enzymes known to be inhibited/down-regulated (or activated/up-regulated) by Sytenol A was provided. 

Chaudhuri used comparative gene expression profiling of Sytenol A and retinol and was able to demonstrate its true retinol-like functionality. Sytenol A not only by quenches radicals and non-radicals; it also stimulates endogenous antioxidant system and protects and maintains the integrity of mitochondria and ATP energy production by stimulating PGC1α (Peroxisome proliferator-activated receptor γ coactivator 1α) which controls many aspects of oxidative metabolism, including mitochondrial biogenesis, and respiration. Sytenol A also is a broad-spectrum anti-inflammatory agent. It works by down-regulating/inhibiting a whole range of pro-inflammatory genes and enzymes. More specifically, Sytenol A inhibits production of PGE2, which contributes to long-term carcinogenic effects and responsible for UVB induced immunosuppression. Finally, Chaudhuri shared with the audience anti-aging, skin protective and anti-acne human clinical study results. 

According to the presenter, Sytenol A is probably the second single agent, after retinol, which is effective against multiple pathophysiologic features of aged and problem skin. Added advantages Sytenol A provides over retinol are its excellent safety profile and photo- and hydrolytic- stability; thus, Sytenol A can be used throughout the day.

After taking August off, the New York Chapter will be back next month with a culinary event on Thursday, September 18 at the Midtown Loft in New York City. 
 
More info: www.nyscc.org