Ingredient intelligence
Ferulic acid
Antioxidant · Ferulic Acid · C10H10O4
Ferulic acid is a plant phenolic acid studied both as an and as a stabiliser in vitamin C and E formulations.
Any underlined term can be tapped for an everyday-English translation.
Molecular identity
- Formula
- C10H10O4
- Molecular weight
- 194.18 g/mol
- PubChem CID
- 445858
- ChEBI
- CHEBI:17620
Biological targets
NF-E2-related factor 2 (NFE2L2)
low confidenceactivates · receptor
UniProt Q16236Reactive oxygen species
medium confidenceinhibits · complex
Direct chemical scavenging.
How could this ingredient interact with biology?
Biological network
Ingredient → molecule → target → gene/protein → pathway → process → studied outcome. Relationship strength is drawn from the curated confidence tier; nothing is added to make the chain look complete.
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5 lower-confidence relationships are hidden at this filter level. Use “Show more biology” to include them.
Text alternative for this network
- Ferulic acid is molecule Ferulic acid — high confidence
- Ferulic acid inhibits Reactive oxygen species — medium confidence
- Detoxification of reactive oxygen species associated with Oxidative stress response — medium confidence
Biological pathways
KEAP1-NFE2L2 antioxidant response
low confidenceresponse element reported in cell models.
Reactome R-HSA-9755511
Detoxification of reactive oxygen species
medium confidenceRadical scavenging capacity.
Reactome R-HSA-3299685
Evidence engine
Limited
Mostly mechanistic, animal or single-study evidence.
Skinceptor Evidence Index
43
experimental · of 100
This index is a research-navigation aid describing how much evidence exists and how it was produced. It is not a medical safety score, an efficacy guarantee, or a clinical recommendation.
Study composition
- Human1
- In-vitro1
- Review1
- Total studies
- 3
- Human studies
- 1
- Largest sample
- 9
- Range
- 2005–2019
Index breakdown
- Study design quality47% × 28%
Mean design weight across curated studies (meta-analysis 1.0, RCT 0.9, other human 0.7, review 0.45, animal 0.35, in-vitro 0.25).
- Human evidence share33% × 22%
Proportion of curated evidence measured in people rather than cells or animals.
- Evidence volume63% × 14%
Log-scaled count of curated studies, so volume alone cannot dominate the score.
- Largest sample size32% × 12%
Log-scaled largest reported sample size across curated human studies.
- Replication33% × 12%
Independent human studies, capped at three; one study is never treated as replicated.
- Recency65% × 7%
Linear decay over a twenty-year window from the most recent curated publication.
- Source traceability33% × 5%
Share of curated studies with a verified PMID or DOI in this dataset.
Insufficient comparable evidence for quantitative synthesis.
Research timeline
How the evidence accumulated
2005
Ferulic acid stabilises a solution of vitamins C and E and doubles its photoprotection
Humann = 9 · Journal of Investigative Dermatology
2013
Stability of L-ascorbic acid in topical formulations
In-vitrosample size unavailable · International Journal of Cosmetic Science
2019
Topical resveratrol formulations and photoprotection endpoints: a narrative review
Reviewsample size unavailable · Journal of Cosmetic Dermatology (review)
Ingredient fingerprint
10 nodes · 12 relationships · seed "ferulic-acid"
The fingerprint is a deterministic visual signature: ridge amplitude comes from the number of entities in each tier, node placement from identifier hashes, and opacity from confidence. Two ingredients can never produce the same figure unless their networks are identical.
Open in Biology as Art →Research
3 curated studies
Topical resveratrol formulations and photoprotection endpoints: a narrative review
Concludes that human topical data remain limited and heterogeneous despite consistent antioxidant activity in cell models.
Limitations — Review of small, mostly non-randomised studies; identifier not verified during curation.
Stability of L-ascorbic acid in topical formulations
Reported rapid oxidative degradation of L-ascorbic acid at neutral pH, mitigated by low pH and antioxidant co-formulation.
Limitations — Formulation chemistry only; no biological endpoints.
Ferulic acid stabilises a solution of vitamins C and E and doubles its photoprotection
Reported improved formulation stability and increased measured photoprotection for a C/E/ferulic combination on human skin.
Limitations — Very small sample; surrogate photoprotection endpoints; industry-affiliated.
Community evidence
Submitted by readers
Reader submissions appear here only after review. They are not part of the curated dataset and do not affect the Skinceptor Evidence Index.
No approved community submissions yet.
Sources
- PubChem 445858Verified 2026-09-14
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