Cysteamine

What is cysteamine?

Cysteamine is naturally produced in the human body from the metabolism of coenzyme A (R). It has been known to have potent depigmenting effects for decades (R), but its offensive odour prevented it from being used in topical products, especially creams, until relatively recently when new technology became available to reduce its odour (R).

Is cysteamine stable?

Cysteamine is unstable and tends to oxidise rapidly in the air and in aqueous solutions (R). Its salt form, cysteamine hydrochloride, is more stable, especially when encapsulated in liposomes. In its base form, cysteamine was completely oxidised after only 15 days of storage at 4°C. This increased to 16 days for cysteamine hydrochloride, and to 6 months when cysteamine hydrochloride was encapsulated (R).

Does cysteamine get absorbed?

Cysteamine hydrochloride was able to penetrate across human skin when applied topically, especially when encapsulated in liposomes (R).