Patent ID: 7282520

Claim:
A preparation for external use comprising a mixture of gallic acid derivatives of the following formula (I), wherein R 1 represents a hydrogen atom, an alkali metal, an alkaline earth metal, an ammonium salt, or an alkyl or alkenyl group having from 1 to 18 carbon atoms and R 2 , R 3 , and R 4 independently represent a hydrogen atom, an hydroxyl group, an alkoxy group having from 1 to 18 carbon atoms, a polyoxyethylene group, a polyoxypropylene group, or a residue of a monosaccharide, a disaccharide, or an oligosaccharide, the mixture of gallic acid derivative of the formula (I) being composed of at least 95% by weight of (A) one or more gallic acid derivatives of formula (I) wherein two of R 2 , R 3 , and R 4 independently represent a residue of a monosaccharide, a disaccharide, or an oligosaccharide and from 0.01 wt % to less than 5 wt % of (B) one or more gallic acid derivatives of formula (I) wherein one of R 2 , R 3 , and R 4 represents a residue of a monosaccharide, a disaccharide, or an oligosaccharide, each weight percentage being based on the total content of the gallic acid derivatives of formula (I) in the preparation.