What Is PDRN in Skincare? Salmon DNA, Explained

What is PDRN in skincare? Purified salmon or trout DNA fragments, listed as sodium DNA. Most evidence comes from injections; topical data are early.

By H. Lee · Research guide

Oct 6, 2026

Title card reading "What Is PDRN in Skincare? Salmon DNA, Explained" for the K-beauty decoded section of Korea Glow Report — Editorial hero image. Illustrative image.

PDRN (polydeoxyribonucleotide) in skincare is purified DNA from salmon or trout milt, cut into fragments and listed on labels as sodium DNA. Injected PDRN has controlled trials for wound repair and small trials for skin quality. Topical PDRN serums are cosmetics; the strongest topical data so far is one 28-day eye-cream trial of 31 women.

That gap between the clinic and the serum shelf is the whole story. “Salmon sperm facial” headlines usually describe an injection or a microneedling session, then the shopping links point to a serum that may hold a fraction of a percent of the ingredient.

Key takeaways

What it is: DNA fragments from chum salmon or rainbow trout sperm, with molecular weights of 50 to 1,500 kDa in the original drug, purified so no active proteins remain (Squadrito et al., 2017).
Best-studied use: injection. In a 2014 randomized trial of 216 people with diabetic foot ulcers, 37.3% of the PDRN group had complete ulcer closure at 8 weeks versus 18.9% on placebo.
Topical evidence: a 2026 split-face trial of 31 women found a 0.1% PDRN eye cream improved wrinkle and dermal-density measurements about twice as much as 0.1% retinol over 28 days.
Label clue: sodium DNA is the INCI name. Many serums do not disclose the amount; Anua states 100 ppm (0.01%), one tenth of the trial cream.
Plant or vegan PDRN is a different material. The receptor research was done on fish-derived PDRN.

What is PDRN made of?

PDRN is a mixture of DNA fragments extracted from fish sperm (milt), most often from Oncorhynchus keta (chum salmon) or Oncorhynchus mykiss (rainbow trout, sometimes called salmon trout). Milt is the sperm-containing fluid male fish release at spawning, and its cells are packed with DNA, which makes it an efficient raw material.

The University of Messina pharmacology group behind the main PDRN trials describes it as “derived from a controlled purification and sterilization process” of salmon or trout sperm DNA, with molecular weights between 50 and 1,500 kDa, and states that the process removes active proteins and peptides that could cause immune reactions (Squadrito et al., 2017, Frontiers in Pharmacology). So a PDRN serum contains purified DNA fragments, not sperm.

Polynucleotide, or PN, is a close relative made of longer DNA chains. The two terms are often used interchangeably, and a 2025 review in Biomolecules proposed a cutoff to clear up the confusion: “PDRN” for chains under 1,500 kDa and “PN” for chains of 1,500 kDa or more (Marques et al., 2025). Several of that review’s authors work for companies that make these materials, which they disclose. The practical point for shoppers: a clinic “PN booster” and a “PDRN serum” are related materials of different chain lengths, and the research on one does not automatically carry over to the other.

How do you find PDRN on an ingredient list?

On an INCI list, PDRN usually appears as sodium DNA. INCI is the standardized ingredient-naming system used on cosmetic labels in the US, EU and Korea. The EU CosIng database lists sodium DNA with the chemical name “deoxyribonucleic acid, sodium salts” and the function “skin conditioning” (checked October 6, 2026). CosIng also lists related names you may see: hydrolyzed sodium DNA and sodium DNA/RNA.

Brands rarely print the concentration on the label, so position and brand pages are your best clues. Here is how a real example decodes.

Label clue	Example	What it tells you
INCI name	Sodium DNA	The ingredient regulators recognize; “PDRN” and “salmon DNA” are marketing names for it
Position in the list	21st of 34 in Anua PDRN Hyaluronic Capsule 100 Serum	Below the botanical extracts, which fits a low level
Stated amount	100 ppm on the brand-supplied Ulta listing	100 ppm equals 0.01%
Number in the product name	“100”	Matches the ppm figure, not a percentage
Comparison point	0.1% in the 2026 eye-cream trial	0.1% equals 1,000 ppm, ten times the Anua figure

The conversion is simple: divide ppm by 10,000 to get a percentage. A product advertising “10,000 ppm PDRN” would be at 1%; one at 50 ppm would be at 0.005%. When a brand gives no number at all, a position after the preservatives, which are typically used at 1% or less, points to a small amount.

How is PDRN supposed to work?

In cell and animal studies, PDRN works mainly by activating adenosine A2A receptors and by supplying building blocks for DNA repair. Adenosine receptors are proteins on cell surfaces that respond to adenosine, a signaling molecule the body releases around stressed or injured tissue; the A2A subtype is linked to calming inflammation and supporting tissue repair.

The Squadrito review describes two actions: engaging A2A receptors, and providing nucleosides and nucleotides for the “salvage pathway,” the route cells use to recycle DNA building blocks instead of making them from scratch. The same review adds a detail that matters for shoppers: “The binding to adenosine A2A receptors is a unique property of PDRN and seems to be linked to DNA origin, molecular weight and manufacturing process.”

Two consequences follow. The A2A evidence comes from a specific fish-derived material, mostly tested by injection or in cell and animal models. And a different source of DNA, or a different fragment length, cannot borrow that evidence without its own testing.

What does the research show for PDRN injections?

Injected PDRN has the deepest evidence, mainly for wound repair. The best-known trial, run at two Italian centers, randomized 216 people with hard-to-close diabetic foot ulcers to PDRN or placebo, given by intramuscular and perilesional injection for 8 weeks (Squadrito et al., 2014, Journal of Clinical Endocrinology and Metabolism). Complete closure reached 37.3% with PDRN versus 18.9% with placebo, and median time to closure was 30 days versus 49.

For appearance, the evidence is thinner. A 2026 systematic review searched PubMed, Embase and the Cochrane trial register through January 2026 and found only seven randomized trials of PN or PDRN, with 183 participants in total: four for skin rejuvenation, one for scar prevention and two for wound repair (Alhussain et al., 2026, Cureus). Results favored PN and PDRN across outcomes, with the most consistent effects in wound settings, and the authors describe the base as limited by small samples and varied protocols.

Injectable PDRN is a clinic procedure, and in the US it sits outside FDA approval: a board-certified anesthesiologist who practices aesthetic medicine told NBC Select in August 2025 that it is “not FDA-approved in the U.S.” while being the most common PDRN method in countries such as South Korea and Australia (NBC Select, August 28, 2025). Anyone weighing an injection should discuss it with a board-certified dermatologist.

Does PDRN work in a serum or cream?

Early human data suggest topical PDRN can improve the look of photodamaged skin, at least at 0.1% in a well-designed vehicle. The key study is Ye et al., 2026, in PLOS One, which combined cell work, skin-penetration tests and a clinical trial of one salmon-sperm PDRN material, PDRN-850K (purity of at least 96%, average fragment length about 1,200 base pairs, average molecular weight of no more than 850 kDa).

The clinical part was a randomized, double-blind, split-face study of 31 Chinese women aged 35 to 55 with self-reported sensitive skin and visible crow’s feet, under-eye lines and eye bags. Each applied a water-in-silicone eye cream with 0.1% PDRN-850K to one side and an identical base with 0.1% retinol to the other, twice daily for 4 weeks. The PDRN side showed about twice the improvement in periocular wrinkles, dermal thickness, density and eye-bag measurements, and no adverse reactions were reported on either side.

Read the result with its design in mind:

The comparator was retinol, not a plain base. The trial shows PDRN outperformed 0.1% retinol over 28 days; it does not measure PDRN against an identical cream with no active.
Penetration data are suggestive. Confocal Raman scans tracked a PDRN-associated signal into the living layers of the epidermis, and the authors note that Raman alone cannot fully distinguish applied PDRN from the skin’s own DNA.
The material was specific. Results apply to this fragment size at 0.1%, supplied by one manufacturer; several authors are affiliated with skin-aging research and biotechnology companies.

This matches what formulators say about size. Cosmetic chemist Shuting Hu told NBC Select that because “the molecule is large, it won’t penetrate deeply through skin without professional delivery methods.” A topical PDRN product is best judged as a hydrating, skin-conditioning formula with an early-stage active, not as a jar version of an injection.

Why do “salmon sperm facial” headlines mix up injections and serums?

Because “salmon sperm facial” names at least three different things: injections, microneedling with a PDRN solution, and at-home serums. People searching “salmon sperm facial” usually ask about injections, cost and before-and-after photos, while people searching “PDRN skincare” are shopping for serums. Many articles answer the first with photos from a clinic and the second with a serum.

The before-and-after images that drove the trend come from in-office treatments, where PDRN is placed into the skin by needle. NBC Select also reported in 2025 that microneedling with PDRN is not FDA-approved. A serum on the bathroom shelf works under different rules: the US FDA states that “the law does not require cosmetic products and ingredients, other than color additives, to have FDA approval before they go on the market” (FDA, page updated November 18, 2025). Manufacturers are responsible for safety, and they can sell a serum without proving it does what the injection does.

What are you actually buying?

A PDRN product can be an injection, a microneedling add-on, a cosmetic serum or a plant-DNA extract, and each has different evidence. They differ in source, delivery and dose disclosure as well.

Format	What is in it	How it reaches skin	Dose you can see	Best human evidence	US status
Clinic PDRN injection (“salmon DNA booster”)	Sterile salmon or trout DNA fragments	Needle into the dermis	Set by the clinic	Small randomized trials; 7 RCTs, 183 people across PN and PDRN (2026 review)	Not FDA-approved, per 2025 reporting
Microneedling with PDRN (“salmon sperm facial”)	A PDRN solution applied during or after needling	Micro-channels from the needles	Rarely disclosed	Mostly animal and case data; one 2022 animal study paired PDRN, vitamin C and niacinamide with microneedling	Not FDA-approved, per 2025 reporting
Over-the-counter serum, cream or mask	Sodium DNA in a cosmetic base	Applied to the skin surface	Often undisclosed; some brands give ppm	One 28-day split-face trial of a 0.1% eye cream (31 women)	Cosmetic; no premarket approval needed
“Vegan,” plant or phyto PDRN	DNA fragments from plants (peony, rose) or bacteria (Lactobacillus sakei)	Applied to the skin surface	Usually undisclosed	Small brand-run studies, such as peony PDRN tested in 10 people for 2 weeks	Cosmetic; no premarket approval needed
PN (polynucleotide) booster	Longer DNA chains, 1,500 kDa or more by the 2025 proposed cutoff	Needle into the dermis	Set by the clinic	Grouped with PDRN in the same small trial base	Clinic product; check your provider

The plant and bacterial versions deserve a closer look. A 2025 study from a Korean ingredient maker tested peony-derived PDRN in cells and then in 10 people, where 2 weeks of topical use reduced water loss after a lab irritation test, and periorbital elasticity improved at 4 weeks (Bak et al., 2025, International Journal of Molecular Sciences). A 2026 Journal of Drugs in Dermatology case series described eight women who used a phyto PDRN serum made from Lactobacillus sakei after lasers, microneedling or peels (Wu et al., 2026). These are useful early data for those specific materials, and they are a separate evidence file from salmon PDRN.

How strong is the evidence for each PDRN claim?

The evidence is strongest for injected PDRN in wound healing and weakest for cosmetic serums, which have one small 28-day trial.

Claim	Best evidence	Study type, size, duration	Strength
PDRN acts through adenosine A2A receptors and the salvage pathway	Squadrito et al., 2017	Review of in vitro and animal experiments	Lab-only
Injected PDRN improves closure of chronic wounds	Squadrito et al., 2014	Double-blind RCT, 216 people, injections for 8 weeks vs placebo	Moderate
PN and PDRN improve skin-rejuvenation outcomes	Alhussain et al., 2026	Systematic review of 7 small RCTs, 183 people, mixed protocols	Moderate
0.1% topical PDRN improves the look of eye-area wrinkles	Ye et al., 2026	Double-blind split-face trial, 31 women, 28 days, vs 0.1% retinol (no plain-base arm)	Limited
PDRN with vitamin C and niacinamide reduces UV pigmentation	Kim et al., 2022	UVB-exposed animal model, delivered by microneedling	Lab-only
Peony-derived PDRN supports barrier recovery	Bak et al., 2025	Cell work plus 10 people, 2 weeks	Limited
Topical PDRN products need no FDA approval to be sold	FDA	Regulator statement	Guidance

We graded the 2026 systematic review Moderate rather than Strong because it pools two materials and a handful of small trials, which is the limitation its own authors flag.

Why is PDRN everywhere in Korean skincare?

PDRN moved from Korean dermatology clinics, where DNA-based “skin booster” injections are common, onto drugstore shelves as brands looked for a recognizable clinic ingredient. Korean shoppers already knew the injection, so a serum with the same name had built-in appeal, and the trend traveled with K-beauty exports.

Those exports are at a record. Korea’s Ministry of Food and Drug Safety reported cosmetics exports of $7.0 billion in the first half of 2026, up 27.3% from a year earlier, with the US ($1.45 billion) overtaking China ($1.01 billion) as the largest market (4th Industrial News, September 8, 2026, citing MFDS).

In Korean routines, PDRN serums usually sit in the essence-and-serum step, between toner and moisturizer; our guide to what a Korean skincare routine actually looks like shows where that step fits.

How should you choose and use a PDRN product?

Choose by the whole formula and the disclosed dose, and use it like any hydrating serum. A practical checklist, ordered by how much each point matters:

Find sodium DNA on the INCI list. If it is missing, the “PDRN” may be a plant or bacterial DNA extract under another name; check the brand page for the source.
Look for a stated amount. 0.1% (1,000 ppm) is the level with human trial data. Lower levels can still make pleasant serums, with PDRN as a supporting ingredient.
Judge the base. Humectants such as glycerin and hyaluronic acid deliver the hydration you will notice first. Barrier lipids, niacinamide or peptides add their own evidence.
Pick the right format. Eye creams and serums match the trial setting better than wash-off masks.
Give it time. The trial ran 28 days with twice-daily use; judge texture and comfort in a week and visible change over a month or more.
Layer simply. PDRN pairs easily with other actives. If you are also using niacinamide or azelaic acid, our guide to using niacinamide and azelaic acid together covers order and pacing.

Common mistakes: buying a serum to replicate injection results, paying a premium for “PDRN” when sodium DNA sits at the end of the list, and assuming “vegan PDRN” carries the salmon research.

Are spicule serums safe? for the other K-beauty trend that promises ‘microneedling’ at home.

Sources and research notes

Peer-reviewed studies and reviews on polydeoxyribonucleotide (PDRN) and polynucleotides, including injection trials, a 2026 systematic review, a 2026 topical split-face trial and plant-derived PDRN research, plus the EU CosIng sodium DNA entry, FDA cosmetics authority guidance, US reporting on injectable status and Korean MFDS export figures, checked on the date shown.

Source record date: 2026-10-06. Prices and availability are as of that date.

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Frequently asked questions

Is PDRN really salmon sperm?

PDRN is DNA purified from the milt (sperm) of salmon or trout, usually chum salmon or rainbow trout. Manufacturing breaks the DNA into fragments and strips out proteins, so a serum contains purified DNA fragments, not sperm cells.

Does PDRN work when applied topically?

Early evidence says it may help. In a 2026 split-face trial of 31 women, a 0.1% PDRN eye cream improved periocular wrinkle and dermal-density measurements about twice as much as 0.1% retinol over 28 days. Most PDRN research, including the receptor work, uses injections or cell studies.

Is PDRN better than retinol?

One 28-day trial favored a 0.1% PDRN eye cream over a 0.1% retinol eye cream on several measurements. Retinoids have decades of controlled trials behind them, so PDRN is best treated as a promising addition rather than an established replacement.

Is vegan or plant PDRN the same as salmon PDRN?

No. Plant and bacterial "PDRN" are DNA fragments from sources such as peony, rose or Lactobacillus sakei. The adenosine A2A receptor research was done on fish-derived PDRN, and its developers link receptor binding to DNA origin, molecular weight and manufacturing, so plant versions need their own evidence.

Are PDRN injections FDA approved?

As of the August 2025 reporting we reviewed, injectable PDRN is not FDA-approved in the US, though it is widely used in South Korea. Topical PDRN serums are sold as cosmetics, which do not need FDA approval before going on the market.

Is PDRN good for acne-prone skin?

The published topical PDRN studies measure wrinkles, density and barrier recovery rather than acne, so choose by the base formula: lightweight, fragrance-free and labeled non-comedogenic. Persistent or painful breakouts are worth a visit to a board-certified dermatologist.