Ferulic Acid

Description

Ferulic acid is widely found in plants, especially in artichoke, eggplant and corn bran. In addition, it is also present in a variety of Chinese herbal medicines, such as angelica, dome, motherwort, snow ganoderma lucidum and so on.

Chemical properties

Ferulic acid is a pale yellow solid, It belongs to the family of hydroxycinnamic acids. It is an abundant phenolic phytochemical found in plant cell wall components. Natural sources of ferulic acid are leaves and seeds of many plants, such as cereals, coffee, apples, artichokes, peanuts, oranges, pineapples and wine.

Physical properties

Appearance: light yellow crystalline powder. Solubility: slightly soluble in cold water; soluble in hot water, with poor stability in aqueous solution; easily decomposed when encounter light; soluble in ethanol and ethyl acetate; slightly soluble in ether; insoluble in benzene and petroleum ether. Melting point: 170–173?°C.

History

Ferulic acid was first isolated from the medicinal plants ferulic in 1866. The biologi_x005fcal activity of ferulic acid was not revealed until 1957 when the pioneering study of Preziosi P in Italy showed for the first time the efficacy of ferulic acid in regulating blood lipids and diuretic . In 1979, Lin Mao and others isolated ferulic acid from the Chinese medicine angelica and reported that ferulic acid had the inhibitory effect on platelet aggregation . Since then, more and more medicinal efficacy of ferulic acid has gradually been recognized.

The Uses of Ferulic Acid

ferulic acid is a plant-derived anti-oxidant and free-radical scavenger, it protects the skin against uVB-induced redness. When incorporated into formulas with ascorbic acid and tocopherol, ferulic acid can improve their stability and double the photoprotection capacities offered by the formulation. In clinical studies, ferulic acid exhibits good permeation capacities through the stratum corneum, which can be attributed to its lipophilic properties.

The Uses of Ferulic Acid

Widely distributed in small amounts in plants. Used as an antioxidant and food preservative

The Uses of Ferulic Acid

antineoplastic, choleretic, food preservative

The Uses of Ferulic Acid

anti-oxidant, anti-inflammatory, sunscreen enhancer

What are the applications of Application

Ferulic acid is a chemopreventive analog of caffeic acid and inhibitor of 5-LO and 12-LO

Indications

This product is mainly used for the treatment of atherosclerosis, coronary heart disease and ischemic cerebrovascular disease.

Definition

A plant growth inhibitor.

Biotechnological Production

There are three different natural sources for ferulic acid. It could be produced from low-molecular-weight ferulic conjugates. For example, ferulic acid has been isolated from the waste material of rice bran oil production by hydrolyzing with sodium hydroxide or potassium hydroxide at 90–100 C. Ferulic acid with a purity of 70–90 % was produced within 8 h under atmospheric pressure Another possibility is a direct extraction of ferulic acid from plant cell walls by using feruloyl esterases. Various microorganism are able to secrete feruloyl esterases (e.g. A. niger, Bacillus species and Clostridium thermocellum). The enzymatic hydrolysis of sugar-beet pulp has been analyzed using a mixture of carbohydrases from Aspergillus aculeatus with a final ferulic acid concentration of 200 mg.L-1 in the hydrolyzate. Moreover, a purification method to isolate ferulic acid from sugar-beet pulp after enzymatic hydrolysis using a fixed-bed adsorption with activated carbon has been developed. With this process, a purity of 50 % has been achieved. Finally, ferulic acid could be produced by cell culture fermentations. For example, free ferulic acid (up to 50 mg.L-1) and also conjugated to anthocyanins (up to 150 mg.L-1) has been accumulated in cell cultures of Ajuga pyramidalis.

Pharmacokinetics

In clinical practice, Honghua and clopidogrel are often combined with FA-containing herbs to treat cardiovascular disease. Li et al. found that Ferulic acid (FA) was rapidly absorbed with a low bioavailability after a single oral administration. The pharmacokinetics profile of FA in rats was partly altered by the coadministration of FA with Honghua or clopidogrel. FA was rapidly absorbed following oral administration with a mean time to peak plasma concentration (T(max)) of 0.03 h. The corresponding maximum plasma concentration (C(max)) and the area under the concentration-time curve (AUC) were 8174.55 ng/L and 2594.45 h ng/mL, respectively. Coadministration of Honghua and clopidogrel resulted in a 63.5% and 79.7% increase in the AUC, respectively. The C(max) of FA was significantly increased by coadministration with clopidogrel (74.3%, p<0.01). Moreover, the T(max) of FA when coadministered with Honghua or clopidogrel was 3 and 3.76 times slower than when administered alone. The coadministrations also altered other pharmacokinetic parameters estimated for FA, but no statistically significant differences were observed[1].

Pharmacology

Orally administered ferulic acid completely prevents the formation of skin tumors, reverts the status of phase I and phase II detoxication agents, lipid peroxidaton byproducts and antioxidants to near-normal ranges in 7,12-DMBA-treated mice (Alias et al., 2009). The observation demonstrate that orally administered ferulic acid has potent suppressive effects on cell proliferation during DMBA-induced skin carcinogenesis.
Ferulic acid also has the capacity to prevent UV-induced damage to cells. Ferulic acid is often added as an ingredient to anti-aging supplements. When ferulic acid was incorporated into a formulation of α-tocopherol and/or ascorbic acid, the topical delivery of the vitamins was improved. There was enhanced chemical stability and the photoprotection to solar-simulated irradiation doubled (Lin et al., 2005; Cassano et al., 2009). For example, Murray et al. (2008) applied a stable topical formulation (containing 1% α-tocopherol, 15% L-ascorbic acid, and 0.5% ferulic acid) to normalappearing human skin and a pig skin model. These were then irradiated with solar-simulated UV. The results showed the complex of antioxidants provided substantial UV photoprotection against erythema, sunburnt cells, thymine dimmers, p53 as well as UV-induced cytokine formation including IL-1α, IL-6, IL-8, and IL-10, and TNF-α (Murray et al., 2008).

Clinical Use

At present, there are sodium ferulate tablets and ferulic acid injection used in clinic. Sodium ferulate tablets are mainly used for the adjuvant therapy of atherosclerosis, coronary heart disease, cerebrovascular disease, glomerular disease, pulmonary hypertension, diabetic vascular disease, vasculitis and other vascular disorders. Ferulic acid can also be used for the treatment of migraine headache and vascular headache. Ferulic acid injection is mainly used for the treatment of ischemic cardiovascular and cerebrovascular disease. In addition, sodium ferulate combined with atorvastatin can be used for the treatment of pulmonary hypertension, diabetic nephropathy and chronic glomerulonephritis in clinic .
Ferulic acid is also used in combination with other drugs to treat other diseases.

Side Effects

Ferulic acid serums and creams are generally safe for most skin types. However, it's not safe for everyone.
Sensitive skin. This can cause: Mild redness, Irritation.
Allergic to bran or oatmeal. People may also have an allergy to ferulic acid serums derived from bran or oats. Symptoms tend to be mild and may include: Redness, Swelling, Itching, Rash, and Peeling.

The Uses of Ferulic Acid

Ferulic acid is available in both supplemental form and as part of anti-aging serums. It's primarily used to fight off free radicals, which play a role in age-related skin issues, including age spots and wrinkles.
It's also available as a supplement intended for daily use. Some studies suggest that ferulic acid may be helpful for people with diabetes and pulmonary hypertension.
But ferulic acid supplements don't appear to have the same potency for skin health as serums containing ferulic acid do.
Ferulic acid is also used for food preservation. Additionally, it's sometimes used by the pharmaceutical industry in some medications. More research is being done on other potential uses for this widely available antioxidant, including for Alzheimer's and cardiovascular diseases.

Effects

Ferulic acid is an antioxidant that works to boost the effects of other antioxidants. When used in skin care products, it helps to protect overall skin integrity by reducing the development of fine lines, spots, and wrinkles.

Safety

Overall, ferulic acid is safe for most skin types. If you have sensitive skin, though, it's a good idea to test a small amount of the product ahead of time, just as you would with any new skin care product. 

Purification Methods

Crystallise ferulic acid from H2O. [Beilstein 10 H 436, 10 IV 1776.]

References

[1] Wang, Mi Ningsheng . "Pharmacokinetics of ferulic acid and potential interactions with Honghua and clopidogrel in rats." Journal of Ethnopharmacology (2011).