As skin ages, it accumulates damage from harmful molecules called free radicals and experiences ongoing inflammation, which causes the cells responsible for skin structure to malfunction and break down collagen and other supportive tissues. Centella asiatica, a plant extract, contains natural compounds that fight free radicals, reduce inflammation, and support collagen production. However, these beneficial compounds don’t always reach skin cells effectively because they don’t dissolve well in typical formulations. Researchers tested whether combining this plant extract with phospholipids—a type of fat molecule that helps ingredients penetrate skin—would improve its performance compared to the plant extract alone. When tested on human skin cells in the laboratory, the phospholipid-enhanced version was significantly better at reducing free radicals and lowering inflammatory markers that damage collagen.
It also helped restore collagen levels better than the basic extract. The plain extract showed minimal benefits by comparison. These findings suggest that phospholipids may help the plant’s active compounds work more effectively, though additional research in more realistic skin models is needed to fully understand how this works. (Source: Front Mol Biosci, via PubMed.)
Source: PubMed — read the full article