Idebenone (pronounced eedy-be-known), a super antioxidant, is now being used in select anti-aging skin care products. That’s good news for you if you need to get rid of some extra wrinkles that none of us can avoid as we grow older.
While idebenone has been known for a long time as a pharmaceutical agent, it has arrived to the realm of skin care only recently. In fact, some skin care companies claim it as a new, cutting-edge discovery. But, can it really benefit your skin?
In the 1970s and 1980s, researchers had been studying the potential of Coenzyme Q10 (CoQ10), including its ability to improve heart failure, reduce free radical damage and slow down certain neurological conditions. CoQ10, a vitamin-like natural compound found in all aerobic organisms, plays an important role in cellular energy production and is also an effective antioxidant. Trying to boost CoQ10’s therapeutic effects, scientists synthesized and tested a variety of its chemical analogs and derivatives. Most of these derivatives were found ineffective or unsafe. However, one of the few exceptions was idebenone.
It is closely related to CoQ10 in its structure. However, idebnone...