Wheat Amino-Peptides (INCI: Wheat Protein)

Wheat is a grass that is native to the Middle East, particularly areas in the Fertile Crescent from Mesopotamia to the Mediterranean Sea. However, due to extensive human migration, several varieties of wheat are cultivated on almost every continent on earth. Wheat is one of the first cereals known to have been domesticated by humans, with records demonstrating that it may be responsible for the rise of cities in the archeological record due to its ease of transportation and storage as a food source for more dense population concentrations. Today, it is the third most widely grown crop after rice and corn.

Proteins found in wheat have been researched for their effect on human skin, specifically when they are hydrolyzed to be incorporated into topical formulations. Clinical research suggests that topical application of hydrolyzed wheat proteins can initiate fibrillogenesis in the dermis (particularly of collagen type III), which is the formation of collagen bundles that are responsible for the strength and resiliency of the dermis. Interestingly, this research suggests that in addition to increasing the synthesis of collagen production that wheat protein peptides may also control the way in which collagen fibrils are generated, making them more uniform in diameter and spacing. This provides better cohesion and stabilization of the collagen fiber network, resulting in a gradual resolution of line, wrinkles, and sagging that appear with age.

Protein peptides from wheat are also useful in skincare formulas as plant-based proteinase inhibitors. Proteinases (also termed proteases or peptidases) are enzymes in the skin that break down bonds between proteins and peptides, usually splitting them into smaller amino acid factions. Because collagen is a protein, these enzymes have a direct relationship to the integrity of the skin's supportive network that keeps wrinkles from forming. Inhibiting the formation and actions of such enzymes diminishes the rate by which collagen is broken down in the skin, thereby strengthening and thickening the overall collagen network that keeps skin tight. After a certain age the degradation of collagen speeds up, due to an increase in a proteinase called matrix metalloproteinases (MMP). Collagenases, a specific type of MMP, cleave fibrillar collagen into smaller fragments, which are then susceptible to further proteolysis. Wheat proteins have been shown to inhibit the production of human MMP-2 and MMP-3, thereby preserving collagen fibers from degradation.

In addition to enzymatic degradation, another process that damages collagen is glycation. Glycation is a cascading reaction between proteins and sugars that ultimately results in Advanced Glycation End (AGE) Products. When glycation affects collagen fibers to ultimately result in AGE products, they lose their flexibility and elasticity. There is emerging evidence that wheat protein peptides may inhibit glycation reactions, protecting skin from the loss of elasticity.