I have to admit, when someone says anti-aging, I think, “What isn’t anti-aging? Aren’t most cosmeceutical products designed to thwart aging, or signs of aging?" So when I read about Lucas Meyer’s active ingredient Adipofill™, an L-ornithine—an amino acid obtained by biotechnology from vegetable starch—encapsulated in a lonosome™ delivery system, my interest was piqued due to its unequivocal anti-aging claim.
There are three processes in face aging: cellular aging, cutaneous aging and structural aging, which is where Adipofill fits in. Structural aging decreases adipose tissue, which is responsible for facial plumpness. As age creeps in, this "fat pad progressively melts due to a disturbance of adipocyte metabolism, which causes the appearance of deep nasolabial folds, saggy jowls and hollowness under the eyes." Adipofill was engineered to mimic lipofilling results (such as those used in plastic surgery) by activating hypoxia inducible factor (HIF)-1-alpha, an trangascription factor, stimulating adipocyte anabolism and decreasing fatty acids release, ultimately decreasing nasogenian wrinkles for a more plumper and youthful look, and offering facial rejuvenation.
Lipohormesis is a beneficial response of adipose tissue to microstress exposure, and research shows various stresses in the adipose tissue are able to stimulation its expansion through activating HIF1-alpha. With that being said, an in vitro adipocyte genic expression study showed Adipofill actives HIF1-alpha; and therefore reproduces the condition of a lipohormesis phenomenon, leading to adipose tissue growth. The active ingredient activates adipogenesis and lipogenesis, and inhibits lipolysis.
In a test protocol with 20 women aged 40 to 60 years old with nasogenian folds, a cream containing 2 percent Adipofill or placebo was applied on split-face two times a day for two months. In one month, Adipofill reduced the appearance of nasogenian folds. A 27.5-percent reduction was seen in skin roughness and a 37.6-percent reduction in wrinkle depth was seen as well. Additionally, volunteers agreed it provided smoother, firmer, plumper and more lifted skin.
A separate test protocol showed the ingredient enhanced lipid storage. By activating HIF1-alpha, Adipofill inhibited lipolysis and the release of free fatty acids from adipocytes with a dose-dependent effect. The increase in triglyceride storage inflated adipocytes, leading to a bigger cell volume and diameter.
This is technical info, especially since I am a journalist and not a scientist; but the company’s comprehensive research data and detailed explanation of the ingredients’ mechanisms of action and properties helped me understand the significance and novelty of the ingredient, among other things.
