Butterfly bushes are known for being and attracting beauty — their conical clusters of white, pink, lilac, and violet-colored flowers that reel in the powder soft flitter of butterfly wings. But butterfly bushes may also be present in a recent skin care ingredient.
It’s one of the components (along with glycerine and xantham gum) of stem cell blend Buddleja davidii stems G, which its parent laboratory’s tests have suggested has photoprotective, antioxidant, and anti-imflammatory qualities.
Antioxidant
Istituto di Ricerche Biotecnologiche (IRB) tested Buddleja davidii stems G as an antioxidant against DHHP and compared it to rutin and reversatrol. Buddleja davidii stems G was found to be far more effective than both of these natural molecules. That’s the only lab test of Buddleja davidii stems G, but others have been done of Buddleja davidii extract (Personal Care).
Verbascoside is the phenylpropanoid glycoside found in Buddleja davidii. It’s known to have anti-inflammatory and antioxidant effects, and has been shown to have these in cosmetic applications (Molecules). It’s been found to lessen oxidative stress and scavenge free radicals (Informational Health Care).
Photoprotective and Anti-Aging Qualities
IRB’s study on ten volunteers found that a formula with 2% of the Buddleja davidii stems G offered significant sun protection — in particular against UVA irradiation (Personal Care). Because the sample size was so small, the ingredient had a monumental improvement, but larger studies would be required to confirm these results.
Verbascoside has been found to have photoprotective qualities as well (Molecules). In an experiment with guinea pigs it was found to be highly protective against cellular death cause by UV-B irradiation (Fitoterapia).
Anti-Aging
In addition to sun protection, IRB’s study found that it had anti-aging effects in that Buddleja davidii stems G could stifle collagenase, which causes degredation of collagen (Personal Health). Unfortunately, these are preliminary results — there aren’t many others to back it up. That’s not to say that this won’t be an excellent ingredient in terms of anti-aging — we just need more research to back the claim.
Bottom Line
Buddleja davidii stems G shows a lot of promise as an ingredient in skin care. Its components have anti-inflammatory, antioxidant, and photoprotective qualities that have been demonstrated in several studies. It’s important to note that a number of these studies were performed by one laboratory, particularly the anti-aging information. Hopefully more studies in the future will show whether this is an effective ingredient for stopping collagenase. Overall, we’d love to see more studies on all fronts to show efficacy.
If you want to try Buddleja davidii stems G, consider MyChelle All / Combination The Perfect C Serum ($44, amazon.com) with L-ascorbic acid and co-enzyme Q-10, it’s packed with skin-improving ingredients.