Anua's PDRN serum is one of the most-searched products in the salmon-DNA skincare wave; "anua pdrn" searches grew more than tenfold over the past year. The product name puts three things up front — PDRN, hyaluronic acid and a "Capsule 100" — and the ingredient list is published in full on the brand's own page. This analysis reads that list position by position and sets it beside what the published research says about each headline ingredient. We have not used this serum; nothing below describes how it feels or performs on skin.
The declaration
The list below is copied from Anua's product page (anua.com, US store), read on 30 September 2026. Positions were counted by hand, with 1,2-hexanediol counted as one ingredient.
| # | Ingredient | # | Ingredient |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Water | 18 | Melia Azadirachta Leaf Extract |
| 2 | Butylene Glycol | 19 | Melia Azadirachta Flower Extract |
| 3 | Propanediol | 20 | Coccinia Indica Fruit Extract |
| 4 | Glycerin | 21 | Sodium DNA |
| 5 | Hydrolyzed Hyaluronic Acid | 22 | Solanum Melongena (Eggplant) Fruit Extract |
| 6 | 1,2-Hexanediol | 23 | Hyaluronic Acid |
| 7 | Niacinamide | 24 | Hydrolyzed Sodium Hyaluronate |
| 8 | Glyceryl Oleate | 25 | Hydroxypropyltrimonium Hyaluronate |
| 9 | Lauryl Glucoside | 26 | Potassium Hyaluronate |
| 10 | Myristyl Glucoside | 27 | Sodium Hyaluronate Crosspolymer |
| 11 | Polyglyceryl-6 Laurate | 28 | Sodium Acetylated Hyaluronate |
| 12 | Hydrogenated Lecithin | 29 | Ocimum Sanctum Leaf Extract |
| 13 | Glutathione | 30 | Citric Acid |
| 14 | Hydrolyzed Collagen | 31 | Curcuma Longa (Turmeric) Root Extract |
| 15 | Sodium Hyaluronate | 32 | Corallina Officinalis Extract |
| 16 | Coptis Japonica Root Extract | 33 | Sodium Citrate |
| 17 | Adenosine | 34 | Pentylene Glycol |
Finding 1: the DNA is 21st of 34, with no amount
"PDRN" and "polydeoxyribonucleotide" do not appear on the list. The DNA ingredient is declared under its ingredient-list name, Sodium DNA, at position 21 — after niacinamide (7), glutathione (13), adenosine (17) and the first four plant extracts, and ahead of six of the eight hyaluronic acid forms.
Our PDRN serum census read 39 PDRN serum labels on 27 September 2026 and found the DNA ingredient's median position was 14th of 37, with 17 of 39 placing it in the second half of the list. Anua's serum is among that later-placed group. No amount is stated anywhere on the product page. Some brands give a figure (the census found four of 39 that do, from 0.03% to 1%); this one does not.
Under US labelling rules, ingredients are listed in descending order of amount, except that those at 1% or less may follow in any order (21 CFR 701.3(f)(2)). This list gives no marker that locates that point — there is no phenoxyethanol, and the lower half is not in alphabetical order — so the list alone cannot say whether the DNA is above or below 1%.
Finding 2: the salmon is on the web page, not on the label
The product page states: "pdrn (sodium dna) is derived from salmon dna." That is the brand's claim, and it is more than most labels say; our census found that no ingredient list names the source organism, because Sodium DNA is the same name for DNA from any source. A reader who wants to know where the DNA came from has only the brand's word, here as elsewhere.
Finding 3: no signal peptide, and eight hyaluronic acids
Despite sitting on shelves next to peptide serums — and despite our census finding that 23 of 41 PDRN serums also carry at least one peptide — this formula declares no signal peptide of the kind covered on this site, such as copper tripeptide-1 or acetyl hexapeptide-8. Its one protein-derived ingredient is hydrolyzed collagen at position 14, a mixture of collagen fragments whose size and topical role are different questions from those of the small signal peptides; our collagen peptides page covers the oral side of that ingredient.
What the list does carry is hyaluronic acid in eight forms: hydrolyzed hyaluronic acid (5), sodium hyaluronate (15), and six more from position 23 to 28 — hyaluronic acid, hydrolyzed sodium hyaluronate, hydroxypropyltrimonium hyaluronate, potassium hyaluronate, sodium hyaluronate crosspolymer and sodium acetylated hyaluronate. Different molecular sizes and modifications of hyaluronic acid are a common formulation choice for hydration; our page on peptides vs hyaluronic acid sets out what hyaluronic acid on the skin's surface is and is not shown to do.
Other named actives: niacinamide (7), glutathione (13; the topical evidence is summarised on our glutathione for skin page), and adenosine (17). The list also includes eight botanical or algal extracts — Coptis japonica, neem leaf and flower, Coccinia indica, eggplant, holy basil, turmeric and a red alga (Corallina officinalis). The product page credits the serum's "natural emerald color" to the formula's ingredients; the list declares no added colourant.
Finding 4: the "Capsule 100" and the testing figures
The number in the product name is explained on the page as "Smart Capsule 100 Delivery" — "microcapsule technology" for "effective hydration delivery". It is not described as an amount of PDRN. The ingredient list does not identify which ingredients form the capsules.
Under "Testing Results", the page gives two figures, both after a single use:
- "Temporary hydration and moisture plumping effect improved by 8.93% after 1 use."
- "Temporary deep skin hydration improved by 24.64% after 1 use."
The page states no number of participants, no measuring method, no comparison product and no testing organisation. Both claims are worded as temporary hydration — the effect any humectant-rich serum is designed to produce — and neither is a claim about DNA, collagen or wrinkles. The page also lists "Clinically Tested", "Non-comedogenic" and "Low irritiation" (sic) without detail.
Where the PDRN research actually is
PDRN's clinical literature is overwhelmingly about injection: purified DNA fragments placed under the skin by a clinician, a different product in a different regulatory category. The fragments described in that research are very large — the smallest about 100 times the roughly 500-dalton rule of thumb for what can cross intact skin — which is why our PDRN page treats "topical PDRN" and "injected PDRN" as separate questions. A serum's DNA ingredient has to work on or near the surface, and the published record does not show what a salmon-DNA serum does there. The same distinction runs through our Medicube PDRN Pink Peptide Serum analysis and the category overview on skin boosters.
What this formula establishes
It establishes a hydrating serum built on eight forms of hyaluronic acid with niacinamide, glutathione, adenosine and a group of plant extracts, and a DNA ingredient at an undisclosed amount in the lower half of the list. It establishes the brand's statement that the DNA comes from salmon, and two one-use hydration figures with no study design attached.
It does not establish what the DNA contributes, whether the serum does anything beyond hydration, or how it compares with any other product; this page makes no claim on any of those. For reading any PDRN or peptide label the same way, see how to read a peptide ingredient list.
Sources
- Anua, PDRN Hyaluronic Acid Capsule 100 Serum product page (ingredient list, "Details", "Benefits", "Testing Results"), fetched with plain curl and product name matched, read 2026-09-30.
- Anua US store product catalogue (product title and price, $30.00), read 2026-09-30.
- 21 CFR 701.3, Designation of ingredients — eCFR, paragraph (f)(2), which is why the DNA's 21st place says nothing reliable about its amount.
- Peptide Glow Journal, PDRN serum label census, 41 serums read 2026-09-27 (positions, stated amounts, source organism, peptide co-ingredients).
- Search demand trend for "anua pdrn" from the 2026-09-28 keyword research for this site (clickstream-corrected US data, year-on-year change +1,110%).