https://media.licdn.com/dms/document/C4E1FAQG1hu-boJpnLA/feedshare-document-pdf-analyzed/0/1675884706266?e=1677110400&v=beta&t=cmOQ9rMxIsntnIABCPQ6sslaz3licgOriOCPCwgQYjsPerhaps even more compelling is the January 2023 launch of Nec-
taria Lithops, a trademarked ingredient that helps optimize the
skin’s own production of vitamin D. Inspired by the functionality
of Lithops pseudotruncatella (a succulent native to South Western
Africa sometimes called ‘living stones’), the team at Spain-based
Vytrus Biotech developed the new active using their in-house ex-
pertise in plant stem cell technologies.
Alejandro Guirado, Communication and Marketing Manager at
Vytrus,shared press materials with me that explain how“Lithops
pseudotruncatella is able to maintain levels of water and healthy
cells during extreme periods. Its secret weapon is its sugar struc-
turation. Along with a peculiar metabolism, this sugar structura-
tion enables the plant to capture the light necessary for ... under-
ground photosynthesis without compromising the water balance
of the plant.”
There are apparently similarities between this underground pho-
tosynthesis and vitamin D synthesis in human skin. So,“by devel-
oping a biotechnology platform (Phyto-Glucidic Fractions) based
on plant sugars, Vytrus created Nectaria Lithops. The biophysical
mechanism of action of this active ingredient, made from Lithops
stem cells, consists of the optimization of the skin microenviron-
ment to stimulate the vitamin D production by the cutaneous
cells,”explains the company’s press materials
