Glucuronyl Glucosyloleanolate: A Safe and Potent
AI
‐Discovered Depigmenting Saponin
Yannick Quesnel, Michael Gold ABSTRACT
Purpose
Saponins are amphiphilic glycosides found in plants. They have long been used in traditional Asian remedies for their anti‐inflammatory, protective, and rejuvenating properties. One representative, Glucuronyl Glucosyloleanolate (GGO), was recently discovered using a combination of artificial intelligence and experimental testing as a depigmenting agent. Its safety has been verified in humans during a patch test on 12 volunteers, followed by an HRIPT study on 100 volunteers. Finally, its depigmenting efficacy has been demonstrated after a clinical trial on 60 volunteers.
Methods
A 48‐h patch test was conducted on 12 volunteers using the pure compound. HRIPT: a patch with 0.1% GGO in mineral oil was applied to 100 volunteers repeatedly over 3 weeks. After a 2‐week rest, a single patch was applied again to the induction site and to a new, untreated site for the challenge phase. Clinical trial: monocentric blind study of GGO (0.01% weight) versus placebo on a multi‐ethnic panel with pigmentation spots.
Results
Safety: No skin irritation or adverse effects were observed in the patch test assay confirming the product's excellent safety. On the 100 volunteers, during the induction period, no reaction of irritation was observed after 3 weeks and during the challenge phase, no allergic reaction was observed. Based on these results, GGO demonstrated very good skin compatibility and does not show a sensitizing effect. Efficacy: all subgroups showed significant depigmentation from Day 21 onwards, which continued to increase in a similar manner to that observed with localized depigmentation. After 84 days, the level of depigmentation achieved was 10% on Asian, 14% on Caucasian and North African skin, and 24% on black skin. Dark Pigmentation spots on Asian and Caucasian skin depigmented at a rate 34% faster than the overall skin tone, resulting in their visual fading