Constantly signalling our internal health status to the external world, the dermis — the skin’s deeper layer — serves as a critical interface.
Exposed to a barrage of external stressors, such as pollution and UV radiation, as well as internal factors such as ageing, it requires robust support to maintain its integrity and youthful vitality.
Collagen, the body’s most abundant protein, provides structure, strength, firmness and elasticity to the skin and other tissues.
However, the body’s natural collagen production begins to decrease as early as 25 years of age, leading to thinner/more fragile skin, the appearance of wrinkles and a loss of muscle tone.
To maintain healthy-looking skin for longer, acting promptly and capitalising on natural ingredients that reactivate endogenous collagen production is crucial.
Preventing long‑term deterioration with no adverse effects is precisely what today’s consumers and healthcare professionals seek.
CENTEXTRA for firm, elastic and restored skin
Centella asiatica L., a highly valued botanical, offers numerous benefits for skin health. Its remarkable properties are attributed to unique triterpenoid acids and derivatives: madecassoside, asiaticoside, madecassic and asiatic acid.
These active compounds are scientifically proven to promote collagen synthesis, support wound healing, elicit a healthy inflammatory response, provide antioxidant protection, stimulate microcirculation and help with transepidermal water loss.
However, as is common with many powerful natural ingredients, the full potential of Centella is often limited by its inherently poor solubility and absorption.
To unlock the full potential of Centella’s properties, Indena exploited its multifunctional and proprietary delivery system, Indena Phytosome®, successfully integrating it with a Centella asiatica extract to ensure that its beneficial triterpenes remained intact and highly absorbable.
The result is CENTEXTRA®. At the cellular level, CENTEXTRA demonstrated superior biological activity compared with an unformulated Centella extract, showing
- enhanced antioxidant action: greater protection against reactive oxygen species (ROS)
- enhanced wound healing and faster skin repair
- collagen level restoration: helps to restore collagen levels after oxidative stress and inhibits collagenase (MMP-1), which is crucial to maintain skin integrity.1
A recently completed human study conducted by Indena (manuscript in preparation) demonstrated CENTEXTRA’s superior effectiveness compared with a placebo.
The main endpoints are
- wrinkle depth in crow’s feet area: –11% after 28 days/–16% after 84 days
- skin elasticity: +3% after 28 days/+5% after 84 days
- skin firmness: +3% after 28 days/+7% after 84 days
- skin thickness: +1.8 µm after 28 days/+2.2 µm after 84 days.
Overall, the study results show that, thanks to CENTEXTRA, the skin gets more elastic, has fewer wrinkles and is both firmer and healthier.
Moreover, Indena measured the wrinkle depth at each experimental time point and calculated the corresponding ages according to “reference data” from the CRO archives.
The evidence showed that CENTEXTRA takes the skin back in time: its appearance looks 5 years younger after 3 months of intake.
Of note, the starting biomass of CENTEXTRA is responsibly sourced from Madagascar and Sardinia using sustainable supply chains.
Careful attention is paid to minimising the impact on local communities.
The dedicated agricultural hub in South Sardinia is an innovative project that utilises a self-sufficient photovoltaic greenhouse.
According to a recent study, the average net carbon dioxide emissions of this production cycle will become negative in 5 years, yielding an exceptionally positive impact on the environment.
CENTEXTRA, the innovative Centella Indena Phytosome, stimulates collagen production and contributes to thicker, smoother and more radiant skin — truly promoting healthier and restored skin for longer. It represents a significant advancement in the holistic management of skin ageing.
The longevity paradigm: healthy appearance as a reflection of internal vitality
The success of CENTEXTRA aligns with a global demographic shift: by 2050, the number of people aged 60-plus will double to 2.1 billion.
This has redefined ageing, shifting the focus from lifespan to “healthspan” and maximising the years spent free from chronic disease.2
This proactive “age-better” trend prioritises holistic well-being and is driving demand for solutions that preserve mobility, cognition and immunity.
Crucially, this pursuit of vitality extends to external appearance. Healthy skin and hair are now recognised as visible indicators of overall health, directly boosting self-confidence and quality of life.
Consequently, the global antiageing market, valued at $67.5 billion in 2023, is projected to grow substantially as consumers seek sophisticated products that target the biological mechanisms of ageing.3
In this evolving landscape of health expectations, Indena stands as a pioneering force by dedicating its extensive research to understanding cellular ageing, optimising body function and enhancing healthy appearance.
Beyond CENTEXTRA, Indena’s market leadership is supported by a robust portfolio of natural ingredients that have been meticulously validated with rigorous scientific studies.
PUREBKALE: purification, a foundation of health
PUREBKALE® is an innovative food-grade extract designed to support the body’s detoxification processes and foster healthy-looking skin.
Following the meticulous screening of Brassica oleracea seed samples, known for their beneficial metabolites, Indena identified the optimal source for a uniquely high glucoraphanin concentration (≥17%).
Produced exclusively with water as a solvent and leveraging a trusted Italian supply chain, PUREBKALE underscores Indena’s commitment to purity and quality.
A clinical study showed that PUREBKALE provides significant benefits for skin barrier integrity, dermal structure and various skin parameters, establishing it as a viable strategy for healthy skin ageing.
Improvements were observed in firmness, elasticity, wrinkle depth and dermal density among women with mild-to-moderate signs of facial ageing.4
Production takes place in an ISO14001- and ISO45001-certified plant, demonstrating a strong commitment to sustainability.
Sourced from a 100% Italian supply chain, the raw material is cultivated using sustainable practices to ensure superior biomass quality.
UBIQSOME: cellular energy for real strength and performance
UBIQSOME® is a unique CoQ10-based ingredient. Thanks to Indena Phytosome technology, it promotes the efficient delivery of coenzyme Q10 to target cells.
UBIQSOME supports energy, skin health and cardiovascular health.
- Energy: UBIQSOME significantly increases muscle CoQ10 levels after 30 days of oral supplementation. In vitro, it increases CoQ10 in cells and mitochondria compared with unformulated CoQ10, favouring crucial cellular functions such as oxygen consumption, ATP production, protein synthesis and mitochondrial biogenesis while reducing oxidative stress.5
- Skin health: a scientific test showed that UBIQSOME is twice as efficient at delivering CoQ10 to human dermal fibroblasts compared with traditional CoQ10.6
- Cardiovascular health: clinical evidence demonstrates UBIQSOME’s ability to significantly improve endothelial function (+7%) within 2 hours of administration.
- It offers multilevel cardiovascular support and serves as an effective adjuvant against statin-induced side-effects (muscle strength and performance).7
QUERCEFIT supports cellular longevity to protect overall vitality
QUERCEFIT® is a nutraceutical ingredient, formulated with proprietary Indena Phytosome technology, to enhance the benefits of quercetin.
Promoting longevity and healthspan, it helps the body to mitigate cell damage and dysfunction — key factors behind physiological age-related decline and inflammatory processes. I
ndena’s scientific research supports QUERCEFIT as a cellular longevity agent. A recent preclinical study using Caenorhabditis elegans showed significant results.8
- Stress resistance (heat, oxidative stress): nematodes grown with QUERCEFIT exhibited improved survival and pharyngeal muscle function after controlled oxidative stress, significantly outperforming unformulated quercetin (equimolar).
- Lifespan and healthspan: under thermal stress, QUERCEFIT, similar to unformulated quercetin, increased the lifespan and healthspan of worms by approximately 50%, demonstrating its capacity to counteract age-associated decline in stress resistance.
- Senescence markers: only QUERCEFIT, not unformulated quercetin, significantly promoted the expression of genes involved in antioxidant and detoxification responses (sod-3 and gst-4), encoding proteins related to longevity and stress.
References
- P. Nezi, et al., Frontiers in Molecular Biosciences 13, 1832045 (2026).
- www.who.int/news-room/fact-sheets/detail/ageing-and-health.
- www.grandviewresearch.com/industry-analysis/anti-aging-market.
- J. Manesh, et al., Cosmetics 13, 47 (2026).
- F. Drobnic, et al., Journal of Food Science and Nutrition Research 3, 262–275 (2020).
- F. Marcheggiani, et al., Antioxidants 12(4), 964 (2023).
- F. Fogacci, et al., Journal of Clinical Medicine 13(13), 3741 (2024).
- M. Romeo, et al., Pharmaceuticals (Basel) 19(4), 525 (2026).
