title: Chemical stability and degradation mechanisms of ferulic acid (F.A) within various cosmetic formulations.
abstract: Ferulic acid (F.A) receives significant interest in the beauty industry with regard to its skin-whitening and anti-oxidant properties. However, its use in cosmetics is limited due to pH- and temperature-related instabilities. In this study, we investigated the stability of F.A in eight different prototype formulae. The results confirmed that in our conditions the stability of F.A is pH- and temperature-related. Additionally, the nature of the solvent dipropylene glycol (DPPG) showed a capacity to stabilize F.A. A series of experiments was further planned for studying the mechanism of degradation of F.A. In a prototype of a cosmetic medium, F.A degrades first through a decarboxylation step, leading to 4-hydroxy-3-methoxystyrene (PVG). Further, F.A and PVG are both involved in an additional reaction, resulting in the trans-conjugation dimer of PVG. The consequences of these results in formulating F.A are discussed.
authors.affiliation: Chemistry Department, Fudan University, No. 220, Handan Road, Yangpu District, Shanghai 200433, China.
authors.forename: Qiu-Jing
authors.initials: QJ
authors.lastname: Wang
authors.forename: Xiang
authors.initials: X
authors.lastname: Gao
authors.forename: Hui
authors.initials: H
authors.lastname: Gong
authors.forename: Xin-Rong
authors.initials: XR
authors.lastname: Lin
authors.forename: Didier
authors.initials: D
authors.lastname: Saint-Leger
authors.forename: Jerome
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Senee
mesh_terms: D002626:Chemistry, Pharmaceutical; D002851:Chromatography, High Pressure Liquid; D003358:Cosmetics / Q000737:chemistry*; D003373:Coumaric Acids / Q000737:chemistry*; D004355:Drug Stability; D006801:Humans; D012997:Solvents / Q000737:chemistry
chemical_list: D003358:Cosmetics; D003373:Coumaric Acids; D012997:Solvents; C004999:ferulic acid