Charkit launches CoQ10 extract as UV protector
sun care ingredient derived from yeast and aimed at providing
increased protection from UV radiation and ageing, reports Simon
Pitman.
Charles Hinnant, president of Charkit Chemical Corporation, said that Coenzyme Q10 (CoQ10)+GPM, a patented yeast form of CoQ10, had been developed by Phamachem laboratories to demonstrate greater effectiveness than CoQ10 at providing protection against UV radiation.
The University of Scranton recently compared CoQ10+ GPM to a pure, USP form of CoQ10. From the University's findings Hinnant reported, "While the effectiveness of CoQ10 forms are well documented, these clinical studies demonstrated that CoQ10+ GPM provides a greater degree of effectiveness in skin absorption, increased antioxidant concentration in the skin and a decrease in free-radicals after just one hour of a topical application."
Hinnant went on to explain that detoxification of free radicals is a highly sought-after objective for manufacturers of skin and cosmetic products since free radicals, if left unchecked, may cause wrinkles and initiate the cancer process.
He also said that different forms of CoQ10, a natural compound that is present in human tissues, organs and plasma, have resulted in varying degrees of effectiveness but up to now, no variation of the compound has achieved the dramatic results that CoQ10+ GPM provides.
"CoQ10+ GPM represents a new generation of sunscreen components, ideally suited to a vast range of age-defying cosmetic and skin care products that incorporate ingredients that provide protection from UV rays. Charkit's technical staff is enthusiastic about working with customers in the development of new product concepts and reformulations that will take advantage of this breakthrough ingredient", added Hinnant.
Currently there are countless ingredients companies engaged in the search to find new and ever-effective means of providing sunscreen protection, mainly in answer to increasing awareness of the risk of sunburn and the possibility of related cancers.
Charkit's new UV protection ingredient follows a growing trend towards sunscreen formulation including ingredients with antioxidant properties. Indeed, last month a study showed that the antioxidant ingredient GliSODin could have proven effective as a sun protector when taken orally, as a dietary supplement.
But as well as ingredients development, there has also been extensive consumer awareness campaigns that is bringing about greater awareness of the dangers of sun burn, which is in turn driving demand for increasingly comprehensive sunscreens.
Only last week the Women's Dermatological Society launched a $1 million 3-year campaign funded by the 3 M Foundation and aimed at increasing cancer awareness in the US.
World supplies of CoQ10 have been running extremely low of late, as many pharmaceutical and nutraceutical companies race to source it as part of treatments for Parkinson's disease, following the publication of scientific studies suggesting it can effectively treat the disease. World manufacturing of the extract has until now been concentrated in Japan, where the ingredient has been held back for domestic companies' needs.
