Abstract
Using the all-trans-retinol which is double-capsulated with matrix, we investigated its stability and the change of the epidermal thickness. The proprietary MDC comprise two steps of capsulation of retinol, i.e., primary microcapsulation with collagen and then secondary capsulation with gellan gum. We compared the activity of all-trans-retinol in various forms such as (1) simply in O/W, (2) in W/O emulsion, (3) in primary capsulted form in O/W emulsion, or (4) in MDC in O/W emulsion. After storage at 45$^{\circ}C$ for 4 weeks, retinol in MDC in O/W emulsion retained 92% of the activity compared to the standard material upon HPLC analysis, whereas the primary capsule gave 70%, the O/W emulsion form 47% and the W/O emulsion 78%. The retinol in MDC in O/W induced the siginificant increase in epidermal thickness compared to the vehicle.