UV exposure accelerates skin aging, particularly in areas most exposed. This process, known as photoaging, results from prolonged radiation, primarily from the sun but also from artificial sources like tanning beds and sun lamps.
UVA, UVB, and UVC rays all contribute to photoageing, affecting all skin types. Common signs include hyperpigmentation, uneven texture, loss of elasticity, wrinkles, and redness, often due to melanin production triggered by melanogenesis and tyrosinase activation (Lipeng Wu et al., 2022).
Treatments like laser therapy, chemical peels, topical medications, and cryotherapy can help manage photodamage, even if they can’t fully erase it. But what if photoaging could be prevented?
PEAR STRATEGIES TO FIGHT UV RADIATIONS DAMAGES
Plants have developed a complex defense system to fight the harmful effects of UV radiation. When exposed, they produce protective molecules like flavonoids and other phenolic compounds that act as UV-absorbing sunscreens.
Pears accumulate flavonoids in their skin to block UV rays while their waxy cuticle reflects sunlight. Inside, they generate antioxidants that combat oxidative stress and defend against microbes, keeping the fruit healthy.
This blend of biochemical, structural, and molecular strategies effectively mitigate the impact of UV radiation, ensuring both survival and development.
Following a biomimetic approach and imitating pear’s defense system, we have developed PEARfect Tone®, a skin-brightening ingredient for UV protection.
THE SCIENCE BEHIND
PEARfect Tone® is formulated with Pyrus communis fruit extract derived from the Xuehua pear, naturally rich in flavonoid and polyphenols.
Through ultrasound-assisted extraction and tangential flow filtration, PEARfect Tone® is enriched with dihydromyricetin, UV absorber and tyrosinase inhibitor, along with arbutin, renowned for its skin-lightening effect against hyperpigmentation.
Its efficacy has been evaluated using a reconstructed human epidermis model comprising keratinocytes and melanocytes, which mimics highly differentiated human skin. The model has been exposed to UVA/UVB radiation for three days and treated with different concentrations of PEARfect Tone® to assess its protective and restorative properties.
HYPERPIGMENTATION INHIBITION
PEARfect Tone®, in human epidermis, significantly (p<0.05) reduces melanin production after UV exposure in a dose-dependent manner (Graph 1) and its activity is driven by the tyrosinase inhibition whom enzymatic activity, responsible of melanin synthesis, has been inhibited after 1 hour treatment at any concentrations tested (graph 2). Pictures of melanin production in human epidermidis (represented by brown color intensity) after UV exposure and PEARfect Tone® treatment are shown for each samples. The browner the epitelium becomes, the more melanin and radiation-induced damage increase.
