New Benefits of a Novel Ascorbic Acid Derivative on Skin Homeostasis - 3-o-laurylglyceryl Ascorbate -

To improve the disadvantages of existing water-soluble ascorbic acid (AsA) derivatives on their skin moisturizing effects, we added a laurylglyceryl group to AsA to produce 3-O-laurylglyceryl ascorbate (3LGA). In studies to assess the efficacy of 3LGA, we found that it had new functions not seen in AsA. Although 3LGA had less ability to scavenge reactive oxygen species (ROS), it elicited a superior reduction of intracellular ROS with or without extracellular stimuli such as exposure to H2O2 or UVB. 3LGA up-regulated the expression of mRNAs encoding peroxisome proliferator activated receptor-γ (PPAR-γ) and nuclear factor E2-related factor 2 (Nrf2), which resulted in increases of glutathione (GSH) and catalase due to the up-regulation of mRNAs encoding γ-glutamyl cysteine synthetase (γ-GCS) and catalase. In addition, 3LGA increased ceramide synthesis associated with the stimulation of serine palmitoyl transferase (SPT) mRNA expression. Thus, we report novel functions of a novel AsA derivative on the homeostasis of the skin in this study.