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Centella isolate

What is Madecassic acid?

Madecassic acid is a triterpene isolated from centella asiatica, close in structure to asiatic acid. A label carrying this one almost always carries the other centella isolates as well. Like asiatic acid it goes in at small amounts and sits low on the ingredient list.

Which products use it?

Of the 178 products whose labels we have read, 4 put this one on the front.

make p:rem

Inteca Soothing Cream

We checked 5 lines this product advertises against the ingredient list and public documents. One of them holds up. The rest are only partly right or have nothing behind them.

1backed2likely1overstated1no evidence

See the label check (5 lines)

Claims translated from Korean, originals preserved.

backed by evidence1
  • Functional cosmetic (brightening, wrinkle improvement) review completion status under the Cosmetics Act: functional cosmetic
    Korean original

    화장품법에 따른 기능성화장품(미백, 주름개선) 심사 필 유무: 기능성화장품

likely, not proven2
  • A non-comedogenic moisture cream that helps rapid soothing with 10,000 ppm of concentrated centella
    Korean original

    1만 ppm의 농축 병풀 성분으로 급속 진정을 돕는 논코메도제닉 수분크림

  • Core ingredients: InTECA (TECA) 10,000 ppm, triple hyaluronic acid
    Korean original

    핵심 성분: 인테카(TECA) 1만 ppm , 3중 히알루론산

overstated ad line1
  • It is an ingredient stabilised by applying a patented method to TECA, the core component of centella. It holds as much as 10,000 ppm (1%) of the concentrated active ingredient at nano size, maximising absorption into the skin.
    Korean original

    병풀의 핵심 성분인 테카(TECA)에 특허 공법을 적용해 안정화시킨 성분입니다. 농축된 유효성분을 나노 사이즈로 1만 ppm(1%)이나 담아 피부 흡수력을 극대화했습니다.

no evidence1
  • A product that completed a non-comedogenic clinical study, proving it does not clog pores and has a sebum reduction effect
    Korean original

    논코메도제닉(Non-comedogenic) 임상을 완료하여 모공을 막지 않고 피지 감소 효과가 입증된 제품

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Product photo of Madecassoside Moisture Sun Serum Trace Repair

Mediheal

Madecassoside Moisture Sun Serum Trace Repair

We checked 3 lines this product advertises against the ingredient list and public documents. None of them hold up on their own. They are partly right at best.

1likely1overstated1says nothing

See the label check (3 lines)

Claims translated from Korean, originals preserved.

likely, not proven1
  • Light, as if you did and did not apply it! UV protection, definite!
    Korean original

    바른 듯 안 바른 듯 가볍게! 자외선 차단은 확실하게!

overstated ad line1
  • A moisture sun serum with a light and moist feel that can block UV for 24 hours
    Korean original

    24시간 자외선 차단이 가능한 가볍고 촉촉한 사용감의 수분 선세럼

says nothing1
  • The sun serum of the great pitcher Yang Hyeon-jong
    Korean original

    대투수 양현종의 선세럼

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Official page (Korean)

Product photo of Pine Soothing Cica Lotion

Round Lab

Pine Soothing Cica Lotion

We checked 4 lines this product advertises against the ingredient list and public documents. None of them hold up on their own. They are partly right at best.

1likely1partly backed1no evidence1says nothing

See the label check (4 lines)

Claims translated from Korean, originals preserved.

likely, not proven1
  • Moisture soothing that fills freshly
    Korean original

    산뜻하게 채우는 수분 진정

partly backed1
  • It is a soothing lotion that softly cares for skin texture and fills moisture freshly.
    Korean original

    피부 결을 부드럽게 케어하고, 산뜻하게 수분을 채우는 진정 로션이에요.

no evidence1
  • For all skin types
    Korean original

    모든 피부용

says nothing1
  • Round Lab focuses on clean, natural raw materials as they are.
    Korean original

    라운드랩은 깨끗한 자연 그대로의 원료에 집중합니다.

Official page (Korean)

Torriden

Balanceful Cica Pore Cleansing Foam

We checked 5 lines this product advertises against the ingredient list and public documents. One of them holds up. The rest are only partly right or have nothing behind them.

1backed2partly backed1overstated1says nothing

See the label check (5 lines)

Claims translated from Korean, originals preserved.

backed by evidence1
  • Balanceful Cica Pore Cleansing Foam
    Korean original

    밸런스풀 시카 포어 클렌징 폼

partly backed2
  • Balanceful Cica Pore Cleansing Foam
    Korean original

    밸런스풀 시카 포어 클렌징 폼

  • Functional status: not applicable
    Korean original

    기능성 여부 해당없음

overstated ad line1
  • All skin types
    Korean original

    모든피부타입

says nothing1
  • Balanceful Cica Pore Cleansing Foam
    Korean original

    밸런스풀 시카 포어 클렌징 폼

Official page (Korean)

What does the research actually show?

Two lists, taken from published studies on this ingredient. The first is what those studies support. The second is what they do not, which is where advertising most often runs ahead of the evidence.

What the evidence supports

Collagen I synthesis in human skin fibroblasts, in vitro, at parity with asiatic acid and asiaticoside
Sources: 1
Dose dependent upregulation of TNFAIP6 in human fibroblasts, responding more strongly to the free acids than to the glycosides
Sources: 3
Participation in an antioxidant group effect in UVB stressed skin fibroblasts, without leading it
Sources: 2
Formulation stability in an o/w/o multiple emulsion.
Six months storage at room temperature and at 40 degrees C did not affect the stability of emulsions with triterpenic substances, and the multiple emulsion is described as an efficient vehicle to preserve these active substances and control their distribution in the skin (MDA-S4).
Sources: 4
Nothing above is a human skin outcome.
No source in this corpus reports a controlled human topical study of madecassic acid.

What the evidence does not support

Claim: madecassoside benefits are madecassic acid benefits, or the reverse.
Contradicted by a direct comparison.
Asiatic acid and madecassic acid caused zebrafish cardiotoxicity and H9C2 cell death while asiaticoside and madecassoside showed no toxicity effects until saturation (MDA-S9).
Sources: 6
Claim: madecassic acid is the potent one, or the upgraded form.
Contradicted where it was ranked.
In the head to head collagen assay the components stimulated collagen I to a similar extent (MDA-S1).
Sources: 1
Claim: madecassic acid builds collagen in your skin.
The collagen evidence is fibroblast culture (MDA-S1) and a cell culture gene expression study (MDA-S3).
Sources: 1, 3
Claim: madecassic acid is present at meaningful levels in a centella product.
Analysis of Centella leaves found the material low in asiatic and madecassic acid while significant in madecassoside and asiaticoside (MDA-S5).
Sources: 5
Claim: madecassic acid is anti-inflammatory, or calms and rebalances skin immunity.
The immunology is genuine, oral and intestinal.
Out of scope, not supported.
Claim: madecassic acid is a proven safe cosmetic ingredient.
No dedicated cosmetic safety assessment for isolated madecassic acid was located, and the Centella expert panel document covers 9 plant derived ingredients only, not the isolated triterpenes.

These lines are quoted from a reading of the published literature on this ingredient, not from testing we ran. Every source is listed below with its DOI or PubMed identifier so you can read it yourself. Findings about treating a medical condition are outside what a cosmetic page covers and are left out.

Do the ad lines about it hold up?

We checked the one advertised line that names this ingredient.

How it readAd lines
likely, not proven1 of 1

The count is of advertised lines, not products. One product can advertise the same ingredient in several lines, and each line was read on its own against the ingredient list and public documents.

What is it usually paired with?

Ingredients that other products put on the front of the label together with this one.

Which studies is this based on?

Every source cited above, in the order it first appears. Identifiers link to the publisher record or the PubMed entry.

  1. 1
    Bonte F, Dumas M, Chaudagne C, Meybeck A. Influence of asiatic acid, madecassic acid, and asiaticoside on human collagen I synthesis. Planta Med. 1994;60(2):133-135.DOI 10.1055/s-2006-959434PMID 8202564
  2. 2
    Lim J, Lee H, Hong S, Lee J, Kim Y. Comparison of the Antioxidant Potency of Four Triterpenes of Centella asiatica against Oxidative Stress. Antioxidants (Basel). 2024;13(4):483.DOI 10.3390/antiox13040483PMID 38671930
  3. 3
    Coldren CD, Hashim P, Ali JM, Oh SK, Sinskey AJ, Rha C. Gene expression changes in the human fibroblast induced by Centella asiatica triterpenoids. Planta Med. 2003;69(8):725-732.DOI 10.1055/s-2003-42791PMID 14531023
  4. 4
    Laugel C, Baillet A, Ferrier D, Grossiord JL, Marty JP. Incorporation of triterpenic derivatives within an o/w/o multiple emulsion: structure and release studies. Int J Cosmet Sci. 1998;20(3):183-191.DOI 10.1046/j.1467-2494.1998.171750.xPMID 18505502
  5. 5
    Hashim P, Sidek H, Helan MH, Sabery A, Palanisamy UD, Ilham M. Triterpene composition and bioactivities of Centella asiatica. Molecules. 2011;16(2):1310-1322.DOI 10.3390/molecules16021310PMID 21278681
  6. 6
    Guo Q, Li Q, Liang W, Zhang Y, Jiang C, Zhang Y, Tan J, Zhao H. Asiatic acid and madecassic acid cause cardiotoxicity via inflammation and production of excessive reactive oxygen species in zebrafish. J Appl Toxicol. 2024;44(7):1028-1039.DOI 10.1002/jat.4602PMID 38527925