In the skin, glycation occurs when sugar molecules bind to proteins like collagen and form AGEs.
Overtime, AGEs accumulate in the tissues and are a major contributor to skin ageing. Signs of glycation include skin wrinkles, loss of elasticity, and skin sallowness.
Sugar may not be as widely recognised as a trigger for ageing compared to sun exposure or pollution.
However, beauty consumers are increasingly more aware of the threats of excessive sweet treats as longevity becomes highly prominent and widely discussed topic today.
Last year, German beauty multinational Beiersdorf launched the Nivea Q10 Dual Action Serum, which targets sugar-induced skin ageing to address “sugar damage”.
South Korean ingredients firm Incospharm developed an anti-glycation ingredient, ICP De-Age I, inspired by its prior research and advancements in the field of autophagy.
This led the company to identified “anti-AGE activities of autophagy activators”, culminating in the development of ICP De-Age I.
“There are already anti-glycation ingredients available on the market. They share one common activity – antioxidants. The generation of AGEs require oxidative stress, so conventional anti-glycation ingredient has antioxidant activity to prevent formation of AGEs. We thought to develop a new autophagy activated ingredient that had the potential to be an anti-glycation ingredient as well,” said Dr Jeong Sekyoo, director and CTO, Incospharm.
In addition to its “strong antioxidant activity”, Incospharm claimed that ICP De-Age I has the additional function of eliminating existing AGEs, effectively reversing glycation.
The firm’s clinical studies reported that the active was able to reduce AGE levels by 8.49% in two weeks and 13.36% in four weeks.
Jeong noted that reversing glycation is known to be challenging.
“I think this is very important because up to now, there are no other data that supports the actual reduction of AGE levels by a cosmetic product,” said Jeong.
Reducing AGE receptors
They contribute to oxidative stress and inflammation, particularly by binding to AGE receptors known as RAGE.
Through ex vivo tests, ICP De-Age I was also able to reduce RAGE in skin, which in turn helps to mitigate the skin’s inflammatory responses.
“Scientific articles have shown that AGEs are well-known inducers of AGE receptors. By preventing the formation of AGEs, we can reduce these receptors as well. This reduction is expected to diminish skin inflammatory responses,” Jeong explained.
Overall, the ingredient was able improve skin ageing-related parameters, such as skin elasticity, hydration, melanin, and erythema.
Moving forward, the company will continue to research skin glycation.
According to Jeong, the research is leading the company to explore how exosomes can tackle skin glycation.
