Novel in vivo Evaluation of the Moisturizing Effect of A Lotion by Using Raman Microspectroscopy

Skin moisturization can be measured in vivo by Corneometer?, giving information about the hydration level of the skin. However, this approach cannot reveal the inner changes of lipid organization involved in the integrity of the skin barrier. Raman microspectroscopy is an in vivo and non-invasive method that assesses the lateral organization of lipids from the stratum corneum by measuring the νasymCH2/νsymCH2 ratio. In the present study, the aim is to evaluate the moisturizing effect of two skin care products (i.e. LOTION 1: GF deep-nourishing & skin-sturdy facial emulsion;LOTION 2: placebo formula) by using the Corneometer? and Raman microspectroscopy. Results demonstrates a significant improvement of lipids organization and thus a reinforcement of the barrier function associated with an increase of the hydration level with LOTION 1 compared to LOTION 2.

Study on Biotransformation of Traditional Chinese Herbal Medicines Complex

A newly designed enzymolysis-fermentation combined method to dramatically enhance the actives level and skin benefits of traditional Chinese herbs (TCHs) was developed, biotransformation process under optimal reaction conditions can significantly transform molecular structures and obtained fermentation extracts can deliver better skin benefits on anti-aging, hydration and whitening. Analytical results showed that the ginsenoside Rg3, total sugar, polyphenols and flavonoids in fermented extract were 2~4 times higher than unfermented extract. In-vitro tests including DPPH radical scavenging activity, tyrosinase inhibition, cells proliferation and Hyaluronan-CD44 activity, have showed significant enhancement of efficacy, inhibition rate on DPPH antioxidation as example achieved over 60% improvement, which makes traditional Chinese herbs application more feasible. It is inferred that this study potentially enables the herbs to deliver required bioefficacy in cosmetic application.

Enhanced Solubilization and Stability of Resveratrol in Cosmetic Applications

A newly designed microcapsule system to dramatically enhance solubility and stability of resveratrol was reported through solvent screening, surfactant and composition optimization etc. Resveratrol solubility increased to about 550 times higher than that in pure water, the solution is colorless and transparent, and HPLC results indicated that the resveratrol was stable under different temperatures(4 °C, 25 °C, 40 °C, 48 °C): within four weeks, higher than 95.0% of resveratrol was retained after the thermal tests. It was also confirmed that with the addition of the selected protective active, resveratrol retained about 90.0% after light radiation exposure for 24 hours. This microcapsule system may find high potential application for unstable and undissolved ingredients in cosmetic products.

In Vivo Study of a Natural Whitening Agent

A natural whitening agent to replace synthetic bioactives was developed.Xin Qi Bai(XQB)was composed of traditional Chinese medicine(TCM)and the whitening efficacy was tested in vivo.Qualified volunteers were selected and used cream with or without XQB for 8 weeks continuously.The individual type angle(ITA°),melanin index(MI)and the stain area(%)were tested after 0,2,4 and 8 weeks.XQB can increase ITA°value,decrease MI value and the stain area of skin.Results showed that XQB has good whitening efficacy in vivo,and is a natural whitening agent.

Multiple Effects of Air Pollution on Chinese Male Skin

Air pollution is becoming a very important subject, especially in big cities. In the past years, many publications reported potential adverse effects of air pollution on skin, such as skin inflammation, skin aging and pigmentation. Although men are more often exposed to environment due to probably longer time working, sporting and smoking, the researches about adverse effects of air pollution on male skin are relatively smaller. This article focuses the correlation between air pollution and male skin disorders. We found out that, in the mimic pollution environment for 4 hours, the skin L* value and ITA° value are decreased, a* value is increased, urea content is decreased, keratin carbonylation value is increased. While, water content, transepidermal water loss (TEWL), lactic content and ceramides content remain the same.

A New Method to Improve the Product Stability and Performance of Soap-based Cleanser at Two Different Temperatures

Foam cleanser is the most popular facial cleaning product in Asian market. However, soap-based product appears to be not physically stable under certain circumstance. For example, product viscosity decreases with the increase of temperature but goes up when the temperature goes down. More seriously, phase separation may occur for some products with time. Many efforts have been made to improve the stability of soap-based formulations mainly focusing on 1) adjust the fatty acids ratio;2) optimize saponification level;3) addition of thickeners and surfactants. Improvements have been made upon recent reports. However, required stability of the formulations at both high and low temperature is not satisfied yet. In this work, we introduced one type of non-ionic emulsifier to the soap-based formulation, through which to regulate the microstructure. It is seen that the stability is significantly improved at both high and low temperature, and the using performance is enhanced in the meantime.

Protective effect of oat bran extracts on human dermal fibroblast injury induced by hydrogen peroxide

Oat contains different components that possess antioxidant properties;no study to date has addressed the antioxidant effect of the extract of oat bran on the cellular level.Therefore,the present study focuses on the investigation of the protective effect of oat bran extract by enzymatic hydrolysates on human dermal fibroblast injury induced by hydrogen peroxide(H2O2).Kjeldahl determination,phenol-sulfuric acid method,and high-performance liquid chromatography(HPLC) analysis indicated that the enzymatic products of oat bran contain a protein amount of 71.93%,of which 97.43% are peptides with a molecular range from 438.56 to 1 301.01 Da.Assays for 1,1-diphenyl-2-picrylhydrazyl(DPPH) radical scavenging activity indicate that oat peptide-rich extract has a direct and concentration-dependent antioxidant activity.3-(4,5-Dimethylthiazol-2-yl)-2,5-diphenyl tetrazolium bromide(MTT) colorimetric assay and the TdT-mediated digoxigenin-dUTP nick-end labeling(TUNEL) assay for apoptosis showed that administration of H2O2 in human dermal fibroblasts caused cell damage and apoptosis.Pre-incubation of human dermal fibroblasts with the Oatp for 24 h markedly inhibited human dermal fibroblast injury induced by H2O2,but application oat peptides with H2O2 at same time did not.Pre-treatment of human dermal fibroblasts with Oatp significantly reversed the H2O2-induced decrease of superoxide dismutase(SOD) and the inhibition of malondialdehyde(MDA).The results demonstrate that oat peptides possess antioxidant activity and are effective against H2O2-induced human dermal fibroblast injury by the enhanced activity of SOD and decrease in MDA level.Our results suggest that oat bran will have the potential to be further explored as an antioxidant functional food in the prevention of aging-related skin injury.

Macrophage Polarization in Skin Wound Healing:Progress in Biology and Therapeutics

The morphological and functional barriers caused by pathological scars are extremely painful for patients.Up to now,pathological scar poses a big unmet medical challenge for plastic surgeons and dermatologists worldwide.Macrophage polarization has shown a non-negligible effect on wound healing and scar formation.However,the role of macrophages in wound healing and pathological scar formation is still controversial.To summarize the latest data on probing biological functions of macrophage polarization in wound healing and scar formation and target macrophages in wound healing,we particularly paid attention to studies on different groups of macrophages,the transition among those groups,and modulators regulating the transition process.A comprehensive understanding of macrophage polarization in wound healing is certain to facilitate the development of new and efficient therapeutic modalities for pathological scar.