Anti-Wrinkle Ingredients: GABA (gamma-aminobutyric acid)

gamma-Aminobutyric acid

General Overview

GABA, also known as gamma-Aminobutyric acid, is a neurotransmitter that serves as a chief inhibitor in the human body’s central nervous system. In particular, GABA plays a key role in regulating muscle tone in the human body. By regulating the rate and frequency that neurons fire at, GABA can balance out excitation in the human body, which can cause restlessness, insomnia, and irritability, with inhibition in the human body, which can lead to relaxation, sleep, and pain relief. Early studies of GABA conclude that it was a natural product of plants and microbes, and it was only in the 1950s that researchers discovered that GABA is essential to the continued health of the human nervous system, and that the human body can naturally produce the compound.

Side Effects & Potential Dangers

There have been no reports on the potential side effects of applying or ingesting gamma-Aminobutyric acid, but this is due to a lack of readily available information regarding the product rather than the compounds benign nature. Although it appears that topical or supplemental use of the compound does not result in any immediate reactions, the lurking potential for the development of adverse neurological conditions is still present. If you are pregnant, breastfeeding, or may become pregnant, please consult a medical professional before applying or consuming products that contain GABA, as there have been no clinical tests involving possible side effects on fetal development.

Clinical Research

GABA has been subjected to clinical studies on both living and inanimate test subjects, and has been approved for use in pharmacological products. These studies found that, while it cannot penetrate the blood/brain barrier to affect the central nervous system at its source, GABA can be bound to other compounds and “carried” across the blood/brain barrier, allowing for the possibility of delivering the ingredient directly into the central nervous system.