Extracted from the Lespedeza Capitata plant, grown and harvested in South Korea where it is used for its medicinal properties, B-Circadin has been designed to fight the effects of circadian rhythm disruptions on the skin’s appearance. Photo : © Torwai Studio / shutterstock.com

Presented during the latest in-cosmetics Global tradeshow in Amsterdam, B-Circadin is a new active skin care ingredient designed to fight the damages caused by disruption to circadian rhythm, frequently altered by stressors in daily life. According to Clariant Active Ingredients, the new ingredient “maintains the vital synchronization of the skin’s circadian cycle, rapidly improving the complexion while decreasing puffiness and dark circles.

Circadian rhythm

The importance of the circadian rhythm - also coined “24-hour biological clock” - in the regulation of the human body metabolism is now well-know. According to day and night cycles, it controls our physiological behaviour and metabolism, synthesizes molecules and hormones, and regulates our sleep patterns and appetite. While primarily regulated by the brain, skin cells also possess their own circadian rhythm governing major biological responses which are known to follow this 24-hour clock.

Such responses include aquaporin-3, which allows the transportation of water and glycerol involved in the maintenance of epidermal hydration. Skin cells also have an efficient detoxification mechanism called the Nrf2 pathway to eliminate free radicals. It is one of the most important detoxification pathways in the body and is also regulated by the circadian rhythm. When the cells’ circadian rhythm is desynchronized and under too much stress, the detoxification pathway becomes less efficient.

Modern life stress

According to Clariant, stress, jetlag, shift working hours, intense lifestyles and even exposure to blue light emissions from ubiquitous electronic devices such as laptops, tablets and mobile phones, disrupt the body’s circadian clock, which leads to the deregulation of the skin’s circadian rhythm. Skin shows signs of fatigue and is more prone to aggressions.

B-Circadin is major leap forward in the development of innovative ingredients to protect skin from the stressors of modern living”, explained Alexandre Lapeyre, Global Technical Marketing Manager, Clariant Active Ingredients Business. “With the increasing usage of digital devices showing no signs of abating and the demands of the working environment meaning extended or unusual working hours, we believe B-Circadin will issue a real breakthrough in the treatment of dull, tired skin, improving its overall well-being.

Botanical ingredient

B-Circadin is extracted from the Lespedeza Capitata plant, grown and harvested in South Korea where it is used for its medicinal properties.

Containing two key glycosylated flavonoids directly involved in circadian clock maintenance - carlinoside and isoschaftoside - B-Circadin emulates the ability to resynchronize the circadian cycle within the skin cells, to regulate rhythm-dependent biological functions such as aquaporin-3 and Nrf2 pathway detoxification efficacy,” detailed Clariant in a release.

Tested on a skin model exposed to blue light as a stressor to deregulate the circadian rhythm, B-Circadin improved essential biological functions and also “blocked the direct oxidative stress induced by blue light radiating from digital screens.

In two double blind clinical studies, Clariant Active Ingredients studied the impact of a deregulated circadian cycle on skin properties. With volunteers working at night, so having their biological rhythms disrupted, a cream containing 3% B-Circadin was applied to one half of the face and a placebo to the other half, for 28 days. After only a week, volunteers saw their complexion visibly upgraded by over 17% compared to the placebo - and by 4 weeks, upwards of 35%.

In another study over a much shorter 4-day period, volunteers applied a cream along with a placebo every day. During this study, they were exposed nightly to the blue light effect from a tablet in order to induce sleep perturbation. After the 4 days, eye contour was noticeably improved and puffiness decreased.

A new active that seems perfectly in line with the evolution of lifestyles!