Researchers at Brigham Young University (BYU) in Provo, UT, have shown that a molecule made when soy is digested stimulates production of collagen and elastin — two key components of healthy skin. Now, the university has licensed the technology to Nu Skin Enterprises to use in a serum that’s part of its anti-aging product line. A research team led by Edwin Lephart, PhD, professor of physiology and developmental biology at BYU, discovered that the molecule made by metabolizing soy isoflavons, called equol, has potential impact on not only skin but also on baldness, prostate health, weight gain, and brain health. Lephart called the journey from lab bench to retail product “very exciting.”
To study the potential skin benefits, the researchers cultured human skin cells in the lab. Next, they tested the equol to see how it interacted with collagen, which gives skin structure, and elastin, which provides the elasticity for skin to regain normal shape after stretching or contracting. They found that equol stimulates both collagen and elastin while also inhibiting enzymes that would break down the two. Under the licensing agreement with Provo-based Nu Skin, equol will be one of the active ingredients in the ageLOC Future Serum. That product, along with a cleanser and two moisturizers — one for day and one for night — make up the ageLOC Transformation daily skin-care line, which generated more than $28 million in revenues during the fourth quarter of 2009.
Equol also may have implications for promoting wound healing, based on the molecule’s characteristics, according to Lephart. BYU is negotiating with other companies to license the rights to use equol to treat conditions besides skin health, according to BYU spokesman Michael Smart. Patents are pending for the equol-related technology, which was developed in collaboration with researchers at Colorado State University and Cincinnati Children’s Hospital Medical Center. Both institutions will receive a share of the royalties generated by the BYU license.
Source: Deseret News