Swiss chemical manufacturer Clariant has released a new beauty ingredient that aims to protect the skin from long-term UV exposure.
Prenylium, the trademarked name, is a root extract from the white mulberry tree and is said to help reduce the appearance of existing wrinkles and smooth the skin.
Harvested in partnership with French biotech firm Plant Advanced Technologies, the roots are gathered in an eco-friendly way, without killing the tree.
According to Clariant, the process is 100% traceable from seed to active.
The white mulberry root extract is said to be particularly effective on CCN1, a protein that increases with age, and “rebalances the equilibrium between collagen synthesis and degradation”.
Alexandre Lapeyre, Head of Marketing at Clariant Active Ingredients, said: “Prenylium’s role in maintaining key skin matrisome components, and protecting them from alteration that would normally result over time and through UV exposure, makes it a particularly market-relevant active for skin care formulators keen to develop effective skin care solutions for the growing ‘well-ageing’ generation.
The white mulberry tree
A group of 22 females, aged from 45 to 70 years old, applied a product twice a day containing 1% Prenylium versus a placebo in a double-blind randomised study.
According to Clariant, deepest wrinkles were reduced by 12.7% after four weeks and by 16.6% after eight weeks.
In eight weeks, the firm also reported improvements in smoothness, as skin plumping improved by 13.4%.
