(3) Adi Narayan, A Lucrative Promise for India's Men: Whiter Skin.
www.businessweek.com/articles/20 ... s-target-indias-men
Quote:
"Most Indian fairness creams use niacinamide, a vitamin B derivative obtained from poultry and fish, as the key ingredient. The compound works by slowing the production of melanin, a dark pigment produced by skin cells exposed to sunlight. The creams lighten the skin temporarily by blocking an enzyme required for this process, but the effect wears off after a few hours.
"The stock price of Kao, Japan’s biggest maker of toiletries, plunged in July when a unit recalled products containing skin-whitening component rhododenol after thousands of complaints about blotches or lost pigmentation.
Note:
(a) summary underneath the title in print: Lightening creams, popular with the nation's women, now target guys
(b) Well, I did not believe medication capable of skin whitening. After reading this article, I did read the pertinent topic. Yes, it (skin whitening) can be done, but mechanism is not settled yet.
(i) The first paper on valid skin-whitening treatment is from Kobe center of Proctor and Gamble.
Hakozaki T et al, The effect of niacinamide on reducing cutaneous pigmentation and suppression of melanosome transfer. Br J Dermatol, 147: 20-31 (2002)
www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/12100180
(“Niacinamide had no effect on the catalytic activity of mushroom tyrosinase or on melanogenesis in cultured melanocytes. However, niacinamide gave 35-68% inhibition of melanosome transfer [ from melanocytes to keratinocytes] in the coculture model and reduced cutaneous pigmentation in the PREP model. In the clinical studies, niacinamide significantly decreased hyperpigmentation and increased skin lightness compared with vehicle alone after 4 weeks of use”)
The keratinocyte is a scientific term for a skin cell, made up of: Greek keras, horn; kytos a hollow, akin to L cutis.
Quotation 1 is incorrect in saying niacinamide “block an enzyme required for this process, but the effect wears off after a few hours.” The enzyme referred to is tyrosinase, the rate-limiting enzyme in the first step to make melanin from tyrosine. And niacinamide effect is not ephemeral.
(ii) nicotinamide
en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Nicotinamide
(also known as niacinamide; is the amide of nicotinic acid (vitamin B3 / niacin))
(iii) nicotinic acid
en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Nicotinic_acid
(section 11 History: Niacin was first described by chemist Hugo Weidel in 1873 in his studies of nicotine, by oxidation of nicotine using nitric acid [in one step]; “When the biological significance of nicotinic acid was realized, it was thought appropriate to choose a name to dissociate it from nicotine, to avoid the perception that vitamins or niacin-rich food contains nicotine, or that cigarettes contain vitamins. The resulting name 'niacin' was derived from NIcotinic ACid + vitamIN”)
(iv) Nicotinic acid should not be confused with nicotine.
en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Nicotin
(section 10.1 Name: Nicotine is named after the tobacco plant Nicotiana tabacum, which in turn is named after the French ambassador in Portugal, Jean Nicot de Villemain, who sent tobacco and seeds to Paris in 1560)
(c) Kaō Corporation 花王 株式会社
en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Kao_Corporation
(Headquarters Tokyo; Kao began as a domestic toiletry soap manufacturing company in 1887 by Tomirō NAGASE 長瀬 富郎) |