Ectoine, also known as tetrahydromethylpyrimidine carboxylic acid, is an amino acid derivative. It was first discovered in salt lakes.
What is the function of ectoine?
Ectoine is added to drugs for the treatment of dermatitis and allergies, and preliminary experimental studies on respiratory diseases and enteritis have also achieved relatively positive results. It has been used in the medical, biochemical, and skin care industries for more than 30 years.
Ectoine can stabilize the structure and interaction between water molecules, and generally forms protection on the outside.
Due to its good hydrophilicity, ectoine can unite many water molecules around proteins to build a protective layer.
Ectoine can stabilize this bilayer structure without interfering with its fluidity. External stimuli (allergens, ultraviolet rays, pollution sources, etc.) are blocked outside this water wall to protect cells from further damage.
After continuous use of products containing 0.5% and 1.0% ectoine, the skin hydration will also increase to varying degrees, which is equivalent to the skin's ability to bind to water becoming stronger and the skin's water content increasing.
In terms of sun protection, Ecdoin does not directly absorb or reflect ultraviolet rays like sunscreens. Instead, when the skin is exposed to radiation, Ecdoin can produce a variety of emergency protective reactions to prevent cell sunburn, so it is often added to sunscreen to enhance protection.
After irradiating the forearms of the subjects with ultraviolet rays, the protective effect of Ecdoin on a type of immune cell was tested.
4% Ecdoin can still avoid more than 60% of cell sunburn within the higher UVB (≤200mJ/cm²) radiation range.
Ecdoin also has excellent effects in anti-aging and whitening.
In related tests, after Ecdoin treated skin cells, some proteins related to aging and wound healing showed a certain amount of increase.
Experiments have preliminarily proved that low concentrations of Ecdoin can reduce the level of a-MSH in keratinocytes by promoting the expression of antioxidant genes, and then the activity of tyrosinase will also decrease, thereby reducing melanin production.
Ecdoin is widely used in the pharmaceutical industry, such as eye drops, nasal sprays, oral sprays, etc. It can be used to treat eczema, neurodermatitis, asthma, etc. Today, Ecdoin has been used in related fields such as biomedicine and skin care products.
Reference
[1]. Galinski, E. A., Pfeiffer, H. P. et al., Eur J Biochem, 1985, 149(1): 135-139.
