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Wakamine
Potent whitening active
Lighten your skin
[De]pigmentation
Lightening products are increasingly popular especially in Asia where they are part of the daily cosmetic habits.
Some efficient ingredients may no longer be used in cosmetics: hydroquinone is now restricted to dermatology
and kojic acid safety is more than questionable. New ingredients are therefore requested by the market.
The pigmentation of the skin results from the presence of melanin in the epidermal keratinocytes. Melanin is
synthesized in intracellular organoids (melanosomes) by specialized cells (melanocytes). Melanocytes transfer
them to the keratinocytes.
There are two types of melanin pigments: the eumelanin, which is black-brown and the pheomelanin which is
yellow-orange. Tyrosinase is the key enzyme of these pigments’ synthesis. It leads to dopaquinone production.
The dopaquinone reacts with cysteine entering the way of synthesis of the pheomelanin. If the quantity of
cystein is weak in the cell, the dopaquinone oxidizes spontaneously in dopachrome and follows the way of the
eumelanin synthesis.
Therefore, tyrosinase is the key enzyme for pigmentation. Wakamine is a new active ingredient of marine
origin, which inhibits tyrosinase and melanin production.
Wakamine, an undaria pinnatifida extract
Wakamine is extracted from a brown macro algae, Undaria Pinnatifida, stemming from the Laminaria family.
This macro algae grows in fairly protected water such as bays.
Undaria Pinnatifida originates from Japan where it is traditionally cultivated and used in Asian cooking, notably
in Japan as Wakame.
Accidentally introduced in France during the seventies, this macro algae is nowadays cultivated in Brittany and
authorized in the food industry.
Whitening effect
Wakamine strongly inhibits melanin production (Ex vivo test)
Epidermis are obtained from frozen skin coming
from surgery of female patients. They are separated
by incubation with NaBr 2N for 100 minutes at 37°C.
They are fixed with a buffered formaldehyde solution,
rinsed and treated with the mixture composed of
the active to be tested and 1mg/ml L-DOPA solution
during 4 hours at 37°C. After incubation, the epidermis
are rinsed and viewed on a microscope.
The pictures are quantified for melanin content.
Wakamine inhibits L-Tyrosinase : -39%
Control: melanocyte are visible
Wakamine (100µg/ml) :
melanocytes are slightly visible
Wakamine induces a strong reduction of color skin (Ex vivo test)
A solution of Wakamine 3% is applied on the skin explants with Whatmann paper patches. Explants are daily
treated during 6 days.
The explants are formol-fixed and paraffin-embedded. Melanin colouring on the biopsy sections was carried
out according to the Masson’s technique. Color intensity is calculated by image analysis.
Wakamine outperforms Arbutin with fast visible results
INCI name Aspect Color Odor Preservative
Water (and) Undaria Pinnatifida extract
Clear liquid
Light yellow
Characteristic
Phenoxyethanol
Formulation
lightening cream
Phases Components %
Xyliance Stearic Acid
Macadamia
ternifolia seed oil
Dimethicone
Aluminium Starch
Octenylsuccinate
Preservative
3
2
7
A
B
Water
Glycerin
C
Sodium polyacrylate
Ethylhexyl stearate
trideceth-6
Approved by ECOCERT
for ecological and
organic cosmetics
3
2
qs
qsp 100
2
0,5
D
Wakamine
3
E
Citric acid
qs pH = 5,5
F
Parfum
qs
Cosmetic uses
Wakamine is recommended at 1-3 % in :
• Skin lightening products
• Age spots prevention
30 place de la Madeleine – 75008 PARIS (FRANCE) – Tel : +33 1 53 30 90 00 – Fax : +33 1 53 30 90 01
soliance@soliance.com – www.soliance.com
WAK 0806/2-10/06