Diverse skin benefits of an amphiphilic AsA derivative

2-O-glyceryl-3-O-octyl ascorbate (GO-VC) is a stable amphiphilic ascorbic acid (AsA) derivative in which AsA is bound with octanol, which has antibacterial activity, and glycerin, which has a moisturising effect. GO-VC has effects that have not been confirmed with conventional AsA derivatives, such as antibacterial / antiviral effects and epidermal barrier function-reinforcing effect, and many clinical results of acne, wrinkle and pigmentation improving effects by doctors have been obtained. In recent years, an epidermal regeneration-enhancing effect has also been found, which leads to improvement of skin problems such as dryness, acne, wrinkles and pigmentation. In other words, GO-VC has a wide variety of skin physiological effects. Therefore, GO-VC could add various skin physiological effects by blending it in cosmetics and other preparations, and can be said to be an epoch-making AsA derivative.

Ascorbic acid (AsA) is known to cause scurvy due to deficiency and is an essential component for collagen synthesis. As for the effects of AsA on the skin, various impacts such as an antioxidant effect, an anti-inflammatory effect, an anti-acne effect, a skin-lightening effect and an antiwrinkle effect are known. However, AsA is not stable, and AsA itself is changed to AsA radical, which is a kind of reactive oxygen species, by ultraviolet rays and the like, which may adversely affect the skin. AsA derivatives have overcome this drawback, and various AsA derivatives currently exist. For example, water-soluble AsA derivatives include ascorbyl phosphate (AP) in which phosphoric acid is bound to AsA and ascorbyl glucoside (AA2G) in which glucose is bound. In addition, as an oil-soluble AsA derivative, there is ascorbyl tetraisopalmitate (VC-IP) in which four isopalmitic acids are bound to AsA. Furthermore, there are trisodium ascorbyl palmitate phosphate (APPS) and others such as an amphipathic AsA derivative in which phosphoric acid and palmitic acid are bound to AsA

In recent years, 2-O-glyceryl-3-O-octyl ascorbate (GO-VC) has been developed as one of the stable amphiphilic AsA derivatives. GO-VC has a structure in which octanol having an antibacterial activity and glycerin having a moisturising effect are bound to AsA (Fig 1). GO-VC has amphiphilic properties because octanol is oil-soluble and glycerin is water-soluble. In addition to the antioxidant, anti-acne, anti-wrinkle and skin-lightening effect by conventional AsA derivatives, GO-VC has been confirmed to have various skin physiological effects such as antibacterial / antiviral effects, epidermal barrier function-reinforcing effect, and an epidermal regeneration-enhancing effect. In addition, GO-VC has been confirmed to have an improving effect on hyperpigmentation by an action mechanism different from that of AsA and conventional AsA derivatives. Therefore, GO-VC has a variety of skin physiological effects that are very unique. Therefore, we introduce the various skin physiological effects of GO-VC together with their physical characteristics.