Bioenergy Life Science explores bioactives use in new proportions for anti-aging solutions
22 May 2024 | Bioenergy Life Science
Michael Crabtree, director of Scientific Affairs at Bioenergy Life Science, discusses the effectiveness of “underused” ribose as a skin care topical. The company recently released new data on its bioactives, Bioenergy Ribose and RiaGev-WS, and will use the results to create the “optimal" ratio of ingredients for skin care applications.
This is Sabina Waldeck for Personal Care Insights.
Joining me today is Michael Crabtree, director of scientific affairs at Bioenergy Life Science.
Welcome, Michael.
Thank you.
So let's kick it off with our first question.
Can you run me through your two latest innovations for a bioactive for skincare applications?
Yes, I can.
So, a little historical context, we have been using a product called Bioenergy D-ribose for about 15 years.
In 2009, a study was performed on 28 subjects that showed that there were a number of very interesting effects on the use of ribose as a skincare topical, and we've had interest in using ribose as a skincare topical for bioenergetics, for enhancing the bioenergetics of the skin for some time.
D-ribose is a very common, although a very underused ingredient in skincare and topicals, and so we have been studying the effects of ribose, in combination with, vitamin B3.
For sometimes, especially in an oral platform.
So what we have decided to do was to take that and formally go start and studying its use as a topical, in the topical applications for the removal of fine lines and wrinkles and modifying the NAD metabolism, on the skin, which of course NAD is a major component of the anti, anti-aging space these days.
So NAD is a very hot molecule.
We found through our research starting in 2015, 2016 that when you paired a bioenergyG ribose in combination with nicotinamide, that had some very interesting synergies that were not present in either ribose or nicotinamide individually.
And so what we wanted to do was investigate whether or not those same effects and those same benefits could be mapped into a liposome or mapped into a serum or, or any other number of topical applications.
In this case with the data that we derived recently.
It can be derived just simply from, water.
So that's kind of where we started.
We're interested in continuing research.
We have two more studies underway at the moment, that are going to, replicate and expand upon the parameters that we just recently derived in, about March of this year.
And so how does bioenergy ribose kind of differ from what already is on the market in skincare applications?
The first thing would be the dose response.
So the dose response of ribose, ribose is, it's currently used in skincare applications, which is very wide and very broad, but it's usually used in very small quantities.
And so we have been studying the use of ribose in humans and mammals and so forth at relatively high oral doses for the better part of 4 decades and So our question was how do we optimize that dose response curve?
How do we optimize the amount of ribose that we find suitable for skincare applications, and then what benefits might be derived from the use of biogD ribose in combination with other very common molecules that we find in topicals like niacinamide, like furolic acid, like corsettin, and other things that are are known and widely used oral antioxidants but don't really have a background necessarily in optimization.
They have not been optimized in their use in terms of the quantity that are in skincare applications that are safe for use, that are effective for use, and that can be substantially applied to skincare applications for your average consumer.
And then of course educating people on the science itself.
And so you recently revealed a new data about these ingredients that you're using for these biosolutions or bioactives, and what would you say, how does this data kind of change or does it change how you're going to use these ingredients in the future?
It definitely does.
We think that, so we've been experimenting, experimenting with different combinations and different ratios of the two ingredients together again in an oral platform for some time.
So we, we would suspect that what needs to be done is that the ratio that is viable for use in the skin is probably going to have to be.
Optimized in the same way.
So what we have done thus far is take that Ryaja platform.
So we have a patented blended ingredient that contains bioenergy D-ribose, which is in combination with a cocrystal, which is a novel cocrystal of ascorbic acid and niacinamide.
And the relationship between these three molecules was made very specific through testing in an oral platform.
We, we are optimizing that same platform but for topicals.
So the, the ratio between the three molecules will be optimized for its greatest impact, especially on antioxidant systems, at the level of the skin.
What we have found thus far is more or less, I think what we would have expected.
It confirmed for us the data that we derived in 2009.
Which is that you get a very interesting effect, in a relatively, you know, expedient effect on the removal of wrinkles.
And so this first study looked at what was occurring directly on human skin, particularly on, on different patches of skin on the face, the nose, and the cheek and the neck, troublesome areas for sure.
For elasticity and skin distention and degeneration of wrinkles and also of course age spots is one of our targets.
But what we found was that it actually this effect occurs relatively quickly.
So within 45 minutes, we have meaningful data that shows that just the application of Ryje WWS or bioenergy Ryje, either one, and of course Rydejev WS contains RIO, so we would expect, you know, some of the effects to overlap, but they're happening within 45 minutes.
So we've established that you kind of have this short term effect and it confirmed some of the things that we saw in 2009.
Now, what we want to do is we want to optimize the ratio of the three ingredients with respect to one another, and we would like to find out what is happening on the at the skin at 1 week, at 2 weeks, at 3 weeks, at 4 weeks, and start pairing some of this very.
Clear physical data that we're seeing at the skin with some of the parameters that we might find that would be more common in an oral platform like NAD and ATP testing the levels of the purines and the NAD metabolism in actual skin samples, and we're developing novel analytical methods working with contract research organizations and With our own kind of vested know-how to accomplish this because one thing that the NAD space currently does not have or the anti-aging space, I suppose, is a direct correlation to what is occurring on living human skin cells.
You can get data from petri dishes and you can find data in animal models, but it can be kind of difficult to test these kinds of Kind of minute biochemical parameters on living skin in human subjects, you know, looking at the physical effects in terms of the removal of wrinkles and the improvement of skin elasticity or the improvement of hydration.
That was another big parameter that we found is that ribose is definitely making an impact on, on the hydration level in the skin, meaning it's allowing skin cells to hold on to more water in a relatively short amount of time.
And I think that it's also an interesting question here is whether or not What we have is maybe a mild penetration enhancer for other water-soluble vitamins like vitamin B3.
So if you have a greater quantity of water held at the skin, through the application of ribose, is that additional hydration going to create an environment at this level of the skin where water-soluble ingredients might have a better opportunity to be dissolved in water, to be solubilized and then of course, to be absorbed and used, directly at the skin.
At the level of metabolism.
So those are the questions that we're really looking into.
So it's kind of moving from a short-term frame.
OK, yes, it works very quickly.
We have immediate effect.
What, what's going to happen over 4 weeks?
What's going to happen over 8 weeks, and then try to pair all of that into a narrative so that we can best optimize this into finished products and to help customers and companies optimize these ingredients for their application and finished products and to get them to consumers who want these kinds of products to assist them with maintaining skin health.
And speaking on anti-aging and this, these actives helping with anti-aging, that's kind of a big desirable market in skin care in general, has been for a really long time.
Why do you think that anti-aging is such a desired skin care attribute, and do you think that that will change in the future at all?
I don't think it's ever going to change because time is kind of universal and you're always going to have a situation where people are exposed to environmental stress and because they're exposed to environmental stress, you're going to find that environmental stress tends to bring on adaptations like age spots and the reduction of the physical properties of the skin that we would denote as signs of aging.
I don't think that that's ever going to change.
So, I think that, for us, it's become very important because we have a greater demographic, in terms of the, the sheer size.
For example, in, in the West, the baby boom demographic is very, very large by comparison, and of course they're aging.
So you have more people who are seeing signs of aging and who are simply looking for solutions.
That are noninvasive and that are natural and they're plant derived and they come from trackable and sustainable sources and They're relatively inexpensive and relatively easy to easy to acquire, and they don't require a prescription, and they have science to back them up.
They have safety and efficacy data for many, many decades, and both D-ribose and nicotinamide and of course ascorbic acid, these are things that were always used, but no one has ever put them in one location in these relative ratios to derive a very specific set of benefits that have simply been optimized and So safety, efficacy, and ease of access to just a larger demographic of people.
And so you touched on for a moment on sustainability, and so what is kind of the sustainable features of these ingredients and also with your company as a whole, how do they kind of feature sustainability since it is such a big thing in the personal care industry right now?
For sustainability for us simply means utilizing ingredients and, and maintaining all of the quality standards that are necessary, that are set forth in the industry to maintain designations as non-GMO.
So our product is a non-GMO.
Derived from a non-GMO corn glucose, which we have to go through a recertification for every single year.
And there is no other bioenergy, there's no other ribose on the planet that is capable of demonstrating this, this designation.
So we are the only ribose.
That can be used in this way for these purposes in this application that can be designated as natural.
Halal is made in a GMP facility and goes through all of the rigorous criteria that are necessary to maintain the higher standards for contract manufacturing.
We have the highest purity.
We have the, easily the largest body of research on this particular ingredient on the entire planet.
So we're really the ribo specialists and of course, you have to commit to these kinds of sustainable features to keep up with the industry standards and it's just simply necessary and to some degree of getting ahead of them.
So we have committed just simply to maintaining, to acquiring and maintaining generally regarded as safe, and all of that that entails, since about the middle of the last two decades.
So since about 2006.
We have been producing the, the highest purity, highest quality standard ribose on the market, and it's just natural then to pair that with other, , you know, trusted ingredients like niacinamide and like vitamin C that are already, of course, extensively used.
They're very, very safe.
Everybody knows what they are and know what.
They do, but they don't know what they can do when they're paired with something that is novel, like D-ribose.
D-ribose, because it has such a general effect at the level of the skin's metabolism, of course, makes everything that you would pair with it, specifically that is water soluble, more effective.
Yeah, Michael, thank you for joining Personal Care Insights.
You're welcome.
Thank you for having me.
