Compositions comprising paulownin and/or paulownia extracts and uses thereof

Abstract

Provided are compositions comprising botanical extracts from certain species of the genus Paulownia , methods of lightening the skin therewith, and other uses thereof. Also provided are compositions comprising the compound paulownin, methods of lightening the skin therewith, and other uses thereof.

What is claimed is: 
     
         1 . A method of lightening the skin comprising applying to human skin in need of lightening a therapeutically effective amount of a composition comprising a cosmetically acceptable carrier and about 0.01% by weight of paulownin. 
     
     
         2 . The method of  claim 1 , wherein said composition further comprises an additional skin lightening agent selected from the group consisting of Phenylethyl resorcinol, 4-hexyl resorcinol, α-arbutin, Kojic acid, Nivitol, ascorbyl-2-glucoside, soy extract, niacinamide, and combinations of two or more thereof. 
     
     
         3 . The method of  claim 1 , wherein the human skin in need of skin lightening is selected from the group consisting of skin darkened by UV, skin with uneven skin tone, skin having one or more pigmented spots, melanin spots, age spots, sun spots, senile lentigos, freckles, lentigos simplex, pigmented solar keratosis, seborrhoeic keratosis, melasma, acne marks, and combinations of two or more thereof. 
     
     
         4 . The method of  claim 3 , wherein the human skin in need of skin lightening treatment is selected from the group consisting of skin having one or more pigmented spots, melanin spots, age spots, sun spots, freckles, acne marks, and combinations of two or more thereof. 
     
     
         5 . The method of  claim 1 , wherein said composition comprises at least about 20% by weight of paulownin. 
     
     
         6 . The method of  claim 1 , wherein said composition comprises about 50% or greater by weight of paulownin. 
     
     
         7 . The method of  claim 1 , wherein said composition comprises 90% or greater by weight of paulownin. 
     
     
         8 . The method of  claim 1 , wherein said composition is in the form of a solution, suspension, lotion, cream, serum, gel, stick, spray, ointment, liquid wash, soap bar, shampoo, hair conditioner, paste, foam, powder, mousse, shaving cream, hydrogel, or film-forming product. 
     
     
         9 . The method of  claim 1 , wherein said paulownin is extracted from a plant of the genus  Paulownia  or a cell culture of a plant of the genus  Paulownia.    
     
     
         10 . The method of  claim 9 , wherein said plant of the genus  Paulownia  is selected from the group consisting of  Paulownia tomentosa, Paulownia fortunei, Paulownia elongata, Paulownia kawakamii , and combinations of two or more thereof. 
     
     
         11 . The method of  claim 1 , wherein said paulownin extract is selected from the group consisting of  Paulownia tomentosa  wood extract,  Paulownia fortunei  wood extract,  Paulownia elongata  wood extract,  Paulownia kawakamii  wood extract, and combinations of two or more thereof. 
     
     
         12 . The method of  claim 1 , wherein said paulownin is extracted from  Paulownia tomentosa  wood extract. 
     
     
         13 . The method of  claim 1 , wherein said paulownin is extracted from a plant known to express paulownin. 
     
     
         14 . The method of  claim 1 , wherein said paulownin is either extracted from the plant or is obtained from a plant cell culture. 
     
     
         15 . The method of  claim 1 , wherein said paulownin is synthetic. 
     
     
         16 . The method of  claim 1 , wherein said composition comprises from about 0.01% to about 5% by weight of paulownin. 
     
     
         17 . The method of  claim 1 , wherein said composition comprises from about 1% to about 5% by weight of paulownin. 
     
     
         18 . The method of  claim 1 , wherein said composition comprises from about 0.2% to about 2% by weight of paulownin.