The deference between α-Arbutin and β-Arbutin

Alpha Arbutin Details 

Product name:Alpha Arbutin
Latin name:Arctostaphylos uva-ursi
Appearance:White powder
Part of used:Leaf
Specification:Arbutin 99%
Active ingredient:Arbutin
Detection method:HPLC

Alpha Arbutin:

Alpha-Arbutin is a biosynthetic active ingredient that is pure, water-soluble and is manufactured in a powder form. As one of the most advanced skin lightening ingredients on the market, it has been shown to work effectively on all skin types. It is the epimer of arbutin, and research has proven that it has a stronger inhibitory action than that of (beta) arbutin. Though it is a very expensive ingredient to manufacture, even at very low concentrations, a-arbutin has shown to inhibit the activity of tyrosinase. Alpha Arbutin’s inhibitory mechanism is different from that of arbutin and can be up to 10 times more effective. The a-glucosidic bond found in alpha Arbutin offers higher stability and efficancy than the B form found in the related Beta-Arbutin. This leads to a skin whitening active that acts faster and more efficiently than existing single components.

Beta-Arbutin :

Beta-Arbutin is often referred to as just Arbutin. As a natural extract found in bearberry (Uva Ursi) plants, Arbutin also provides a skin lightening effect on the skin by inhibiting tyrosinase activity. Though arbutin is a natural derivative of hydroquinone, it does not possess the same risks or side effects. Arbutin has been shown to be a very safe ingredient and does not break down into hydroquionone very readily. Though it is cheaper to manufacture than Alpha-Arbutin, the skin lightening effect is much less than that of its counterpart. For this reason, many new skin whitening products now use Alpha Arbutin as opposed to only beta-Arbutin.

Different Efficacy and Safety

ALPHA-ARBUTIN exhibits impressive in-vitro tyrosinase inhibition on human cell lysates compared to Beta-Arbutin. According to the test result from Inhibition Test of Tyrosine and B16 cell, it indicates that ALPHA-ARBUTIN has 10x more effective than β-Arbutin.

Commonly, the dosage to use β-Arbutin is 3% for cosmetic. If reducing the dosage，skin lightening effect is much less. But rising up the dosage will bring in irritation on skin. Contrarily， ALPHA-ARBUTIN exhibit impressive in-vitro tyrosinase inhibition on human cells, which brings in superior skin whitening efficacy without side effects.