Retinoids have a normalizing effect on cell differentiation, are anti-proliferative and regulate cell apoptosis (cell death).
However, retinoids can also have side effects such as redness, irritation, sun sensitivity and itching.
A range of antioxidant assays were used during the development and testing of Myrecil against commercially available industry known potent antioxidants. These assays included nitric oxide, glutathione, mitochondrial respiration, reactive oxygen species, and Trolox equivalent antioxidant assays.
Below are the results measuring superoxidase dismutase which acts as a first line of defense in the skin against free radicals such as UV and pollution. Superoxidase dismutase also protects collagen, and proteins within the skin matrix.
The graph below shows that Myrecil is more effective than commercial plant antioxidant extracts (e.g. green tea) in activating the skins own superoxidase dismutase defense systems.
Fig 1: Keratinocytes were pre-treated for 3 hours with different plant extracts at 20ug/ml and then exposed to UV radiation for 5 minutes. SOD (superoxidase dismutase) activity was measured in live fluorescently labelled cells using flow cytometry at various time points over a four hour time period. The data above is at 30 minutes post UV treatment and remained constant over the four hours. Myrecil was found throughout to stimulate more SOD production compared to the other plant extracts.
