The present invention relates to ascorbyl esters, which are conjugates of ascorbic acid with certain sugar lactones; in their optically active, inactive, or racemic forms (such as d, l, dl, and meso); wherein ascorbyl moiety provides the alcohol part, and the sugar lactone moiety provides the carbonyl part of said ascorbyl esters. These esters are useful for treatment of age spots, acne, loss of cellular antioxidants, collagen loss, loss of skin pliability, loss of skin suppleness, skin wrinkles including fine lines, oxidation, damage from radiation, malfunction of matrix metalloproteases, malfunction of tyrosinases, damage from free radicals, damage from UV, dry skin, xerosis, ichthyosis, dandruff, brownish spots, keratoses, melasma, lentigines, liver spots, pigmented spots, dark circles under the eyes, skin pigmentation including darkened skin, blemishes, oily skin, warts, eczema, pruritic skin, psoriasis, inflammatory dermatoses, topical inflammation, disturbed keratinization, skin changes associated with aging, nail or skin requiring cleansers, conditioning or treatment, and hair or scalp requiring shampooing or conditioning, and combinations thereof.
The ascorbyl esters of the present invention are prepared by a novel method, wherein ascorbic acid and isomers, such as isoascorbic acid, which are lactones, and their derivatives with primary hydroxyl group intact, undergo a chemical reaction with certain sugar lactones to form said esters.
This invention also relates to a method of treatment of skin condition including age spots, acne, loss of cellular antioxidants, collagen loss, loss of skin pliability, loss of skin suppleness, skin wrinkles including fine lines, oxidation, damage from radiation, malfunction of matrix metalloproteases, malfunction of tyrosinases, damage from free radicals, damage from UV, dry skin, xerosis, ichthyosis, dandruff, brownish spots, keratoses, melasma, lentigines, liver spots, pigmented spots, dark circles under the eyes, skin pigmentation including darkened skin, blemishes, oily skin, warts, eczema, pruritic skin, psoriasis, inflammatory dermatoses, topical inflammation, disturbed keratinization, skin changes associated with aging, nail or skin requiring cleansers, conditioning or treatment, and hair or scalp requiring shampooing or conditioning, and combinations thereof.