Topical Lutein Blocks HEV Blue Light

Formulators have another active in the fight against damage caused by light sources, say researchers at Kemin. According to recent study results, Kemin's FloraGlo Lutein Topical is effective in shielding skin against High Energy Visible (HEV) light, which consumers are exposed to every day, via both natural light and predominantly man-made light, being used to illuminate the screens of electronic devices such as computers, televisions and cell phones.

“The challenge was clear. We have long known that HEV light, more commonly called blue light, has adverse effects on human skin cells such as inducing their cytotoxicity, decreasing their proliferation and generating oxidative stress. Therefore, protecting skin against harmful blue light rays could be an indispensable way to reduce the inevitable skin damage from visible light and an introduction to a new need in the beauty regimen to protect skin from full solar spectrum damages,” said Satish Nayak, Ph.D., research and development director for the personal care division at Kemin Industries.

Kemin conducted in vitro studies to specifically identify the blue light absorbing capacity of FloraGlo Lutein Topical at different concentrations by measuring two parameters: the cell viability as the percentage proliferation of metabolically active human epidermal keratinocyte (HEK) and human dermal fibroblast (HDF) cells exposed to blue light for nine hours; and the intracellular reactive oxygen species (ROS) released in cells, in response to blue light exposure. The results showed that when HEK and HDF cells were exposed to blue light in presence of FloraGlo Lutein Topical, the cell viability was improved by 35-45% compared to the blue light control, indicating that FloraGlo Lutein Topical effectively reduces the cell damage imposed by blue light. Also, results showed less ROS generation in skin cells with FloraGlo Lutein Topical treatments when exposed to blue light: FloraGlo Lutein Topical was able to reduce by 44-60 % the ROS release in HEK and by 53-58 % in HDF, compared to the control (100%).

“This news is bigger than how FloraGlo Lutein Topical protects the skin against these intense light rays,” said Marsha Bro, marketing director of the personal care division, “It’s about innovation. We must continuously work to provide breakthroughs and share insights that help dermatologists, skin care professionals and consumers improve the health and appearance of their skin. That’s why we ideally recommend the use of FloraGlo Lutein Topical in day creams for a smart, full light spectrum protection as well as in alphabet creams, especially DD creams for daily defense claims. Most important of all, its use in skin care for neck and décolleté which is a delicate skin area increasingly strained by the constant use of electronic devices provides innovative marketing position that caters for the needs of today’s modern day life.