| abstract |
Novel ascorbic acid derivatives which are stabilized to heat and light as compared with L-ascorbic acid and which are excellent in preservability and penetration into the skin and can be speedily hydrolyzed with phosphatase widely distributed in the living body to exert healthful physiological activities inherent in L-ascorbic acid; a process for the production thereof; and skin-whitening cosmetics containing the same. Specifically, ascorbic acid derivatives represented by the general formula (I), that is, L-ascorbic acid 2-phosphates wherein the phosphate moiety has branched alkyl, or salts thereof; a process for the production of the ascorbic acid derivatives which comprises reacting a branched alkanol with phosphorus oxychloride to form a monoalkyldichloro phosphate or a dialkylmonochloro phosphate, reacting the phosphate with 5,6-O-isopropylidene-L-ascorbic acid separately prepared by reacting L-ascorbic acid with acetone, and then hydrolyzing the obtained compound with an acid into an ascorbic acid derivative whose phosphate moiety has branched alkyl; and skin-whitening cosmetics containing 0.05 to 80 % by weight of the derivatives: (I) wherein R1 and R2 are each hydrogen (H) or branched alkyl of 3 to 30 carbon atoms, with the proviso that the case wherein both R1 and R2 are hydrogen (H) is excepted. |