VACCINIUM MYRTILLUS EXTRACT

📋 Quick facts

Quick Facts:

• Category: other
• Also Known As: 欧洲越桔（VACCINIUM MYRTILLUS）提取物, ビルベリーエキス

Proven Benefits At A Glance:

• Vaccinium myrtillus (bilberry) extract is rich in anthocyanins and polyphenols
• In animal studies, it helped protect blood vessel function during stress conditions
• In lab tests on human skin cells, it reduced some types of UV damage
• Research is limited to animal models and cell cultures—not yet proven in humans wearing it on skin

📊 Comedogenicity

🛡️ Safety rating

Safety tier is a starting heuristic from regulatory status and comedogenic rating, not a dermatological verdict — see our Terms for the full disclaimer. Research confidence reflects how many real cited studies back this ingredient, not the strength of their findings.

🌍 Regulatory Status

💧 Skin Type Compatibility

⚠️ Don’t Combine With

📚 Research & Evidence

🔬 The Science

Vaccinium myrtillus extract contains anthocyanins and polyphenols, compounds that researchers have investigated for protective effects in two different contexts. In a 2016 animal study published in PLoS One, researchers fed hamsters a diet supplemented with bilberry extract (containing 34.7% anthocyanins) and then induced a temporary blood flow interruption to the brain followed by reperfusion. In control hamsters, this caused blood vessels to constrict, increased leakage from tiny blood vessels, reduced the number of active capillaries, and triggered oxidative stress (harmful free radical production). The bilberry-supplemented hamsters showed notably different results: #1: their small blood vessels maintained better diameter and dilated appropriately after the stress period, #2: they had significantly reduced leakage from microvessels and less immune cell adhesion to vessel walls, and #3: their blood vessels responded normally to chemical signals (acetylcholine and papaverine) while the control group’s vessels did not respond as well.

The extract also appeared to prevent excessive free radical production. A 2014 study in the Journal of Photochemistry and Photobiology B tested bilberry extract on human skin cells in a lab setting. The extract was applied before exposing cells to UVA and UVB rays. Results were mixed: #1: the extract reduced cell death and genetic damage (DNA damage) caused by UVB at lower radiation doses, #2: it reduced lipid peroxidation (fat damage) from UVB but did not reduce free radicals produced by UVB, #3: against UVA damage, it reduced genetic damage and helped restore the cell’s antioxidant balance, and #4: it reduced cell death (apoptosis) triggered by UVA but not by UVB.

The researchers concluded the extract had free radical scavenging properties, particularly protective against UVA. These studies are preliminary: one used animals and one used isolated cells in controlled lab conditions, not human skin in real-world use. The effects observed differ between UVA and UVB exposure, suggesting the extract’s protective mechanisms may be selective rather than comprehensive.

📄 Related Research

Matched by search — not necessarily verified support for every statement above.

• Mastantuono T et al. (2016). The Effects of Vaccinium myrtillus Extract on Hamster Pial Microcirculation during Hypoperfusion-Reperfusion Injury. PLoS One.
• Calò R et al. (2014). Protective effect of Vaccinium myrtillus extract against UVA- and UVB-induced damage in a human keratinocyte cell line (HaCaT cells). J Photochem Photobiol B.

🧴 Products Containing VACCINIUM MYRTILLUS EXTRACT