Ingredient intelligence
Sodium PCA
Humectant · Sodium PCA · C5H6NNaO3
Sodium PCA is the sodium salt of pyrrolidone carboxylic acid, one of the most abundant natural moisturising factors generated from .
Any underlined term can be tapped for an everyday-English translation.
Molecular identity
- Formula
- C5H6NNaO3
- Molecular weight
- 151.1 g/mol
- PubChem CID
- 23689151
- ChEBI
- Data unavailable
Biological targets
Filaggrin (FLG)
high confidenceassociated with · structural protein
PCA is a proteolysis product.
UniProt P20930Caspase-14 (CASP14)
medium confidenceassociated with · enzyme
UniProt P31944
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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Text alternative for this network
- Sodium PCA is molecule Sodium PCA — high confidence
- Sodium PCA associated with Filaggrin (FLG) — high confidence
- Sodium PCA associated with Caspase-14 (CASP14) — medium confidence
- Filaggrin (FLG) encoded by FLG — high confidence
- Caspase-14 (CASP14) encoded by CASP14 — medium confidence
- FLG participates in Formation of the cornified envelope — high confidence
- CASP14 participates in Formation of the cornified envelope — medium confidence
- Formation of the cornified envelope associated with Stratum corneum hydration — high confidence
- Stratum corneum hydration studied in Studied for hydration endpoints — medium confidence
Biological pathways
Formation of the cornified envelope
high confidencedegradation generates natural moisturising factors.
Reactome R-HSA-6809371
Evidence engine
Insufficient
Not enough curated evidence to characterise this ingredient.
Skinceptor Evidence Index
19
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
- In-vitro1
- Review1
- Total studies
- 2
- Human studies
- 0
- Largest sample
- Data unavailable
- Range
- 2008–2012
Index breakdown
- Study design quality35% × 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 share0% × 22%
Proportion of curated evidence measured in people rather than cells or animals.
- Evidence volume50% × 14%
Log-scaled count of curated studies, so volume alone cannot dominate the score.
- Largest sample size0% × 12%
Log-scaled largest reported sample size across curated human studies.
- Replication0% × 12%
Independent human studies, capped at three; one study is never treated as replicated.
- Recency30% × 7%
Linear decay over a twenty-year window from the most recent curated publication.
- Source traceability0% × 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
2008
Filaggrin degradation products and natural moisturising factor content of the stratum corneum
In-vitrosample size unavailable · Journal of Investigative Dermatology
2012
Natural moisturising factor composition and stratum corneum hydration
Reviewsample size unavailable · Journal of Investigative Dermatology (review)
Ingredient fingerprint
9 nodes · 9 relationships · seed "sodium-pca"
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
2 curated studies
Natural moisturising factor composition and stratum corneum hydration
Summarises filaggrin proteolysis as the source of pyrrolidone carboxylic acid and its contribution to corneocyte water binding.
Limitations — Review; does not evaluate topical sodium PCA products; identifier not verified during curation.
Filaggrin degradation products and natural moisturising factor content of the stratum corneum
Demonstrates that filaggrin proteolysis by caspase-14 and downstream enzymes generates pyrrolidone carboxylic acid and urocanic acid.
Limitations — Ex-vivo/in-vitro; identifier not verified during curation.
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 23689151Verified 2026-09-14
- UniProt P20930Verified 2026-09-14
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