About Camellia Seed Extract
Specifically the seed of Camellia Japonica contains a class of compound called poly-phenol.
In very introductory organic chemistry terms, phenols contain conjugated double bonds with lone-pairs of electrons, so that they are very chemically stable even when a single electron is taken away from incoming free radicals, Therefore, phenols or poly-phenols are capable of stopping a free radical chain reaction, or are generally known as anti-oxidants.
There are three major types of poly-phenols in plants, namely, ellagitannins, flavonoids and anthraquinones. Many flovonoids such as resveratrol (from the skin of grapes), catechin (from tea), daidzein and genistein (from soy) are well-known antioxidants. However, ellagitannins are also potent antioxidants, in this context, camellioferin A, which is an ellagitannin, has been identified in the seed of camellia japonica (reference: Phytochemistry, volume 37, No. 1 P241-244, 1994) It has even been shown that ellagitannin has anti-tumor activity (Reference: Plant Medicine, volume 68No.6, P 523-527) i.e. protection against xenobiotic-induced liver cancer.
Why is camellia seed oil so good?
Because it can protect the skin from free radical-induced cell death (apoptosis), and the subsequent fibrosis (scar formation).
The mechanism of protection is by absorbing the free radicals, to avoid cell death, apoptosis, and fibrosis that usually come after apoptosis.