Sun exposure is responsible for acute and chronic skin disorders, including photoaging. Guided by an ecolobiogical approach, Naos researchers studied the mycosporine-like amino acids (MAAs). Ecobiology considers the skin as a living ecosystem and acts to preserve and reinforce its natural biology, helping the skin to adapt to its environment. MAAs are molecules synthetized by a wide range of different organisms (except animals), especially those inhabiting ecosystems with a high concentration of sunlight, such as marine and freshwater environments. They are known to absorb ultraviolet (UV) rays and present antioxidative and anti-aging properties.
Therefore, Naos has selected a highly purified MAA-like with a chemical structure derived from MAAs to reinforce the skin defense against sun exposure. We confirmed that this new MAA-like ensures UV-absorption and prevents collagen degradation by significantly reducing matrix metalloproteinase-2 activity, and also provides a strong antioxidative effect, significantly higher than vitamin E.
This bioinspired MAA-like contributes to an ecobiological photoaging protection in sunscreen by helping the skin to preserve its constituents and to adapt to sunlight environment.