Artemisia Capillaris in Skin Care
Artemisia capillaris extract comes from a shrub found abundantly in Asia that has been used as a diuretic, to protect the liver, and to treat skin inflammation.[i],[ii] It has recently been found to be one of the best skin care ingredients to put in melasma creams. What are the benefits and is it safe?
There are over 500 species of the genus Artemisia (of the Astraceae or Compositae family) dispersed throughout the temperate areas of Asia, Europe, and North America.[iii] Various parts of A. capillaris have been used in traditional medicine in Asia for hundreds of years.
Artemisia capillaris is used as a treatment for:
Melasma – it can block pigmentation and inflammation and therefore can act against this pigmentary disorder.
Psoriasis
A. capillaris skin benefits?
Its anti-inflammatory properties may make it useful in skin care regimens designed to lighten skin and in rosacea treatment creams. Artemisia capillaris has antioxidant, anti-inflammatory, and skin lightening activity.[iv]
Anti-inflammatory
Antioxidant
Skin Lightening
Artemisia capillaris flower extract is recommended for the following Baumann Skin Types:
Source of Artemisia Capillaris in Skin Care:
Various parts of the shrub Artemisia capillaris (of the Astraceae or Compositae family) native to China, Japan, and Korea, have been used in traditional medicine for hundreds of years.[v],[vi],[vii] Organic forms are likely available.
Chemistry of Artemisia Capillaris in Skin Care Products:
The primary bioactive constituents of A. capillaris are scoparone, scopoletin, capillarisin, capillin, and chlorogenic acids.[viii] Other important components include camphor, 1-borneol, coumarin, and achillin.[ix]
Safety Issues and Clean Ingredient Standards for Artemisia Capillaris
Artemisia capillaris is generally recognized as safe (GRAS). There are no clean ingredient standards that exclude A. capillaris .
Cultivating Artemisia capillaris does not harm the environment. The sustainability of the shrub throughout Asia may be challenged or threatened by global climate change and land management decisions When designing a skin care routine, care should be taken to design the order of steps in the routine to increase absorption of this ingredient. None yet- will update as they become available A study using mice has revealed anti-inflammatory effects of A. capillaris against atopic dermatitis. [xi] The anti-inflammatory activity of A. capillaris has also been shown to reduce the severity of psoriasis in mouse models.[xii],[xiii] Artemisia capillaris limits the expression of tyrosinase-related protein 1 (TYRP-1), which is structurally comparable to tyrosinase. TYRP-1 is involved in eumelanin (the most common form of melanin, including brown and black) synthesis, but not in pheomelanin (responsible for yellowish to reddish tints) synthesis. TYRP-1 is being looked at as a target for treatment of hyperpigmentation disorders such as melasma; therefore, A. capillaris is considered attractive for use in skin-lightening products. In a 2022 study, A. capillaris was among four essential oil extracts (of 10 studies) to suppress the development of melanin in a B16F10 cell line model.[xiv] Six years earlier, the A. capillaris constituent 4,5-O-dicaffeoylquinic acid significantly and dose-dependently reduced melanin production and tyrosinase activity in melanocytes and decreased the expression of TYRP-1 in mouse cultured cells.[xv] Bottom Line Artemisia capillaris has long been used in traditional medicine in Asia. It appears to have potential in skin care creams or other products to treat dry skin, eczema, psoriasis, rosacea, melasma, and sensitive skin. References: Plant image used with permission from Wikicommons By Qwert1234 - Qwert1234's file, CC BY-SA 3.0, https://commons.wikimedia.org/w/index.php?curid=21928655 Overview of the science can be found here: https://www.mdedge.com/dermatology/article/257902/aesthetic-dermatology/artemisia-capillaris-extract [i] Kwon OS, Choi JS, Islam MN, Kim YS, Kim HP. Inhibition of 5-lipoxygenase and skin inflammation by the aerial parts of Artemisia capillaris and its constituents. Arch Pharm Res. 2011 Sep;34(9):1561-9. [ii] Hsueh TP, Lin WL, Dalley JW, Tsai TH. The Pharmacological Effects and Pharmacokinetics of Active Compounds of Artemisia capillaris. Biomedicines. 2021 Oct 8;9(10):1412. [iii] Bora KS, Sharma A. The genus Artemisia: a comprehensive review. Pharm Biol. 2011 Jan;49(1):101-9. [iv] Hsueh TP, Lin WL, Dalley JW, Tsai TH. The Pharmacological Effects and Pharmacokinetics of Active Compounds of Artemisia capillaris. Biomedicines. 2021 Oct 8;9(10):1412. [v] Kwon OS, Choi JS, Islam MN, Kim YS, Kim HP. Inhibition of 5-lipoxygenase and skin inflammation by the aerial parts of Artemisia capillaris and its constituents. Arch Pharm Res. 2011 Sep;34(9):1561-9. [vi] Hsueh TP, Lin WL, Dalley JW, Tsai TH. The Pharmacological Effects and Pharmacokinetics of Active Compounds of Artemisia capillaris. Biomedicines. 2021 Oct 8;9(10):1412. [vii] Bora KS, Sharma A. The genus Artemisia: a comprehensive review. Pharm Biol. 2011 Jan;49(1):101-9. [viii] Hsueh TP, Lin WL, Dalley JW, Tsai TH. The Pharmacological Effects and Pharmacokinetics of Active Compounds of Artemisia capillaris. Biomedicines. 2021 Oct 8;9(10):1412. [ix] Kim YS, Bahn KN, Hah CK, Gang HI, Ha YL. Inhibition of 7,12-dimethylbenz[a]anthracene induced mouse skin carcinogenesis by Artemisia capillaris. J Food Sci. 2008 Jan;73(1):T16-20. [x] Wijeratne MA, Anandacoomaraswamy A, Amarathunga MSKLD, et al. Assessment of impact of climate change on productivity of tea (Camellia sinensis L.) plantations in Sri Lanka. J Natn Sci Foundation Sri Lanka. 35:119, 2007. [xi] Ha H, Lee H, Seo CS, Lim HS, Lee JK, Lee MY, Shin H. Artemisia capillaris inhibits atopic dermatitis-like skin lesions in Dermatophagoides farinae-sensitized Nc/Nga mice. BMC Complement Altern Med. 2014 Mar 14;14:100. [xii] Lee SY, Nam S, Hong IK, Kim H, Yang H, Cho HJ. Antiproliferation of keratinocytes and alleviation of psoriasis by the ethanol extract of Artemisia capillaris. Phytother Res. 2018 May;32(5):923-932. [xiii] Lee SY, Nam S, Kim S, Koo JS, Hong IK, Kim H, Han S, Kang M, Yang H, Cho HJ. Therapeutic Efficacies of Artemisia capillaris Extract Cream Formulation in Imiquimod-Induced Psoriasis Models. Evid Based Complement Alternat Med. 2018 Aug 19;2018:3610494. [xiv] Kim MJ, Mohamed EA, Kim DS, Park MJ, Ahn BJ, Jeung EB, An BS. Inhibitory effects and underlying mechanisms of Artemisia capillaris essential oil on melanogenesis in the B16F10 cell line. Mol Med Rep. 2022 Apr;25(4):113. [xv] Tabassum N, Lee JH, Yim SH, Batkhuu GJ, Jung DW, Williams DR. Isolation of 4,5-O-Dicaffeoylquinic Acid as a Pigmentation Inhibitor Occurring in Artemisia capillaris Thunberg and Its Validation In Vivo. Evid Based Complement Alternat Med. 2016;2016:7823541.Environmental Impact of Artemisia Capillaris in Skin Care
Skin Care Routine Design Considerations
Best Skin Care Products with Artemisia Capillaris
Evidence-Based Research on Artemisia capillaris
