Arbutin can effectively inhibit the activity of biological tyrosinase in skin, block the formation of melanin, and accelerate the decomposition and excretion of melanin through its direct combination with L- aminotransferase, thus reducing skin pigmentation and removing spots.
Recently, it is the main raw material commonly used in whitening cosmetics at home and abroad. In recent years, the production of arbutin in China and the development of related cosmetics have developed rapidly, and the research and development of arbutin abroad has also deepened and made many progress.
Bear fruit can reduce the production of melanin by inhibiting the activity of alcohol amination enzyme, which is similar to the whitening drug hydroquinone. However, hydroquinone has side effects and many precautions, so it must be used under the guidance and supervision of a doctor.
In the structure of arbutin, there are more glucose molecules than phenol, so it has lower excitability and can be freely added to skin care products. The active molecules with the upper limit of 7% arbutin can deeply fade spots through the basal layer, which has a strong therapeutic effect on chloasma, dark spots, sunburn, pigmentation left by drug allergy, etc., but the low concentration will weaken the durability of its action, so 5% concentration is the safest and most efficient concentration for spots, 5.
Arbutin will be reduced to hydroquinone after being absorbed by the skin, which leads some people to doubt the safety of arbutin and think that arbutin still has the chance to produce side effects similar to hydroquinone. The most commonly heard statement is that "skin care products containing arbutin can't be used during the day, whitening is not good, but it is darker".
Actually, don't worry. Experiments show that only arbutin with a concentration over 7% may be sensitive to light, so 7% is a safe critical point. There are clear regulations on the addition of ingredients in skin care products, and the maximum concentration is 7%. In this concentration range, arbutin is not enough to produce photosensitivity, so it does not need to be used in the dark.
Absorbed by the skin and decomposed by light, it will be reduced to hydroquinone, resulting in whitening effect. However, the concentration of hydroquinone in arbutin skin care products is less than 20 ppm. At such a low concentration, hydroquinone will not cause side effects such as skin blackening.
If you dare not use it in the daytime just because skin care products contain arbutin, it is unnecessary, unless the skin care products containing arbutin also add other maintenance ingredients that need to be protected from light.
Function of arbutin: Anti-inflammatory and bacteriostatic effect: Arbutin leaves have anti-inflammatory and bacteriostatic effects, which are traditionally used to treat urinary tract infections, among which arbutin is its main medicinal component.
Cough relieving, expectorant and antiasthmatic: Fruit glycoside stomach can increase tracheal secretion, prolong the incubation period of ammonia-induced cough, reduce the number of coughs, and significantly increase the secretion of phenol red in trachea.
But so far, its anti-inflammatory, antitussive and expectorant mechanisms have not been reported. Whitening and freckle removal: Melanin is a deep pigment, which can cause skin pigmentation and is produced by a series of biochemical reactions such as phenylalanine or tyrosine oxidation in melanocytes.
Tyrosinase has both tyrosine hydroxylase activity (catalyzing tyrosine-dopa) and dopa oxidase activity (catalyzing dopa → dopa), which is the key factor for melanocytes to synthesize melanin. Arbutin can quickly penetrate into the skin, effectively inhibit the activity of tyrosinase in the skin and block the production of melanin, without affecting the cell proliferation concentration. It competes for the binding site of dopa by directly binding with tyrosol, accelerates the decomposition and excretion of melanin, and thus reduces the deposition of skin pigment.