Comparison of clinical efficacies of sodium ascorbyl phosphate, retinol and their combination in acne treatment

Abstract

Acne vulgaris impairs the appearance of an individual and causes psychological irritation. Inflammatory acne lesion is caused by multifactor incorporates in each step of acne pathogenesis. In an attempt to archive inflammatory lesion treatment with the promise of prevention of acne vulgaris, randomized and double-blind studies on the comparison of the efficacies of topical formulations containing 5% sodium ascorbyl phosphate (SAP) and 0.2% retinol, separately as well as in combination application, were conducted. The resulting data showed that SAP reduced the inflammatory lesion by 20.14% and 48.82% within 4 and 8 weeks respectively. Application of the formulation containing retinol slightly improved the treatment efficacy as the lesion reduced by 21.79% and 49.50% after 4 and 8 weeks respectively. The combination treatment significantly reduced the inflammatory lesion by 29.28% after 4 weeks and 63.10% after 8 weeks of application. The most effective treatment was by using the combination of 5% SAP and 0.2% retinol, which incorporated the synergistic effects on lipid peroxidation and sebaceous gland function in addition to the enhancement of SAP permeability by the desquamation of stratum corneum influenced by retinol, keratin plug removal and anti-inflammatory effect of retinol. This study promises for the development of cosmetic products to overcome aesthetic and psychological problems caused by acne vulgaris.

Therapeutic agents and herbs in topical application for acne treatment

“…This more stable derivative was used to treat the inflammatory lesions in addition to retinol. The combination treatment significantly reduced the lesions [9].…”

“…Keratolytic agents such as cis-retinoic acid, retinol and retinol ester are commonly used to normalize keratinization as they have a suppressive effect on sebaceous gland function [9,36,37]. These vitamin A derivatives suppress TLR's expression and inhibit IL and IFN production.…”

“…Thus, some treatments are used for both adolescent and drug-induced acne. In this review, the therapeutic ingredients in topical applications relevant to the pathogenesis of acne vulgaris lesions were evaluated, as topical application is more feasible [9], especially with the naturally derived compounds already in use and candidate compounds.…”

Susceptibility of Propionibacterium acnes isolated from patients with acne vulgaris to zinc ascorbate and antibiotics

“…The MIC of zinc ascorbate was 640 μg/mL, whereas the MICs of ascorbic acid, magnesium ascorbyl phosphate, and sodium ascorbyl phosphate were ≥1280 μg/mL. The normal dose of ascorbic acid derivatives is 5% (50 mg/mL) 7. These results indicate that zinc ascorbate sufficiently inhibits the growth of P. acnes in the normal dose.…”

“…The antioxidative effect of 5% sodium ascorbyl phosphate has demonstrated efficacy in acne vulgaris 7. However, it remains unclear whether ascorbic acid derivatives have antimicrobial activity against P. acnes .…”