THE STORY BEHIND ASPA-FERNBLOCK®
ASPA-FERNBLOCK® technology is based on plants, which need sunlight to survive and mechanisms to defend themselves from the damage that the sun can cause. Cantabria Labs has therefore begun a search across the planet to find the plants that best complement the classic sun protection we use. The result is Heliocare.
The first great step taken by Cantabria Labs was to choose the Polypodium leucotomos extract, Fernblock®. For over 20 years, Cantabria Labs studied and published the multiple benefits it provided for Heliocare topical and oral formulas. Today, this legacy is continued with the addition of Aspalthus linearis extracts, which work together with Fernblock® protective mechanisms to ensure greater protection.
Vitamin D
+15%
4types of radiation
²M. Mascaraquea, E. Carrascoa, A.López , I. Cáceres, M. Vitale, L. Haya, L. Nieto, M. GallegoRenteroa, S. González y Á. Juarranz. Vitamin D receptor expression in skin exposed to oxidative stress and the protective effect of ASPA-FERNBLOCK®. CILAD 2024 poster.
³A. López, I. Cáceres, L. Haya, M. Vitale , L. Nieto, P. Sepúlveda, M. V. Gálvez, J. Aguilera, S. González. A new technology for addressing photoprotection. CILAD 2024 poster.
ASPA-FERNBLOCK® AND VITAMIN D RECEPTORS
What everyone knows
- Maintaining healthy levels of vitamin D in the blood is essential for maintaining healthy bone structure and a functioning immune system.
- We can obtain vitamin D orally, although the main source comes from the metabolism of skin cells during sun exposure.
- Excessive solar radiation can cause burns and skin cancer.
What maybe everyone doesn’t know
- Having good levels of Vitamin D in the blood is essential to be less likely to have certain skin diseases such as Psoriasis, Dermatitis, or Skin Cancer⁴.
- Our cells can produce the required Vitamin D with sun exposure of between 10-20 minutes, depending on the geographical location, skin colour and time of year⁴.
- Sunscreens do not prevent your skin from synthesizing Vitamin D⁵.
- Vitamin D also has many other functions in cells such as regulating their repair, but to do so they must bind to the cellular Vitamin D receptor (VDR)³.
- Excessive radiation produces oxidative stress that triggers the reduction of vitamin D receptor levels (VDR)⁶.
- Low VDR levels reduce your cells' ability to repair themselves, making you more prone to developing skin cancer⁷.
It is equally important to have both good levels of Vitamin D and its receptor, VDR.
ASPA-FERNBLOCK®, would have the potential to preserve vitamin D receptor levels in the skin.
When you use sunscreen, your skin continues to produce Vitamin D normally. If you use Heliocare with ASPA-FERNBLOCK®, this Vitamin D works even better.
¹Rodríguez-Luna, A.Zamarrón, A. Juarranz, Á. González, S. Clinical Applications of Polypodium leucotomos (Fernblock®): An Update. Life 2023, 13, 1513. https://doi.org/ 10.3390/life13071513.
⁴A.Piotrowska, J.Wierzbicka y M.A. Zmijewski. Vitamin D in the skin physiology and pathology. Acta ABP Biochimica Polonica. Vol. 63, No 1/2016. 17–29. http://dx.doi.org/10.18388/abp.2015_1104.
⁵T. Passeron, R. Bouillon, V. Callender, T. Cestari, T.L. Diepgen, A.C. Green, J.C. van der Pols, B.A. Bernard, F. Ly, F. Bernerd iD, L. Marrot, M. Nielsen, M. Verschoore, N.G. Jablonski, and A.R. Young. Sunscreen photoprotection and vitamin D status. British journal of Dermatology. 2019. 181:884. DOI 10.1111/bjd.17992
⁶Jain SK, Parsanathan R, Achari AE, Kanikarla-Marie P, Bocchini JA Jr. Glutathione Stimulates Vitamin D Regulatory and Glucose-Metabolism Genes, Lowers Oxidative Stress and Inflammation, and Increases 25-Hydroxy-Vitamin D Levels in Blood: A Novel Approach to Treat 25-Hydroxyvitamin D Deficiency. Antioxid Redox Signal. 2018 Dec 10;29(17):1792-1807. doi: 10.1089/ars.2017.7462. Epub 2018 Oct 9. PMID: 30160165; PMCID: PMC6208166.
⁷Bikle DD. Vitamin D receptor, a tumor suppressor in skin. Can J Physiol Pharmacol. 2015 May;93(5):349-54. doi: 10.1139/cjpp-2014-0367. Epub 2014 Dec 8. PMID: 25559384; PMCID: PMC9000998.