Enhancing Skin Health: By Oral Administration of Natural Compounds and Minerals with Implications to the Dermal Microbiome

The history of cosmetics goes back to early Egyptian times for hygiene and health benefits while the history of topical applications that provide a medicinal treatment to combat dermal aging is relatively new. For example, the term cosmeceutical was first coined by Albert Kligman in 1984 to describe topical products that afford both cosmetic and therapeutic benefits. However, beauty comes from the inside. Therefore, for some time scientists have considered how nutrition reflects healthy skin and the aging process. The more recent link between nutrition and skin aging began in earnest around the year 2000 with the demonstrated increase in peer-reviewed scientific journal reports on this topic that included biochemical and molecular mechanisms of action. Thus, the application of: (a) topical administration from outside into the skin and (b) inside by oral consumption of nutritionals to the outer skin layers is now common place and many journal reports exhibit significant improvement for both on a variety of dermal parameters. Therefore, this review covers, where applicable, the history, chemical structure, and sources such as biological and biomedical properties in the skin along with animal and clinical data on the oral applications of: (a) collagen, (b) ceramide, (c) β-carotene, (d) astaxanthin, (e) coenzyme Q10, (f) colostrum, (g) zinc, and (h) selenium in their mode of action or function in improving dermal health by various quantified endpoints. Lastly, the importance of the human skin microbiome is briefly discussed in reference to the genomics, measurement, and factors influencing its expression and how it may alter the immune system, various dermal disorders, and potentially be involved in chemoprevention.

Thermogenic Blend Alone or in Combination with Whey Protein Supplement Stimulates Fat Metabolism and Improves Body Composition in Mice

Background

Certain food ingredients promote thermogenesis and fat loss. Similarly, whey protein improves body composition. Due to this potential synergistic effect, a blend of thermogenic food ingredients containing African mango, citrus fruit extract, Coleus forskohlii, dihydrocapsiate, and red pepper was tested alone and in combination with a whey protein supplement for its effects on body composition in sedentary mice during high-fat diet.

Objective

The objective of this study was to evaluate the interaction of thermogenic foods on improving body composition during consumption of an unhealthy diet.

Materials and Methods

C57BL/6J young adult male mice (n = 12) were placed on a 60% high-fat diet for 4 weeks and subsequently randomly assigned to receive daily dosing by oral gavage of vehicle, the novel blend alone or with whey protein supplement for another 4 weeks. Body composition, thermal imaging of brown adipose tissue (BAT), mitochondrial BAT uncoupling protein 1 (UCP1), and plasma levels of leptin were assessed.

Results

Novel blend alone and in combination with protein supplement attenuated body weight gain, fat, and increased surface BAT temperature in comparison to vehicle control and to baseline (P < 0.5). The combination of novel blend and whey protein supplement also significantly increased UCP1 protein expression in BAT mitochondria in comparison to vehicle control and novel blend alone (P < 0.5).

Conclusions

These data indicate that this novel blend stimulates thermogenesis and attenuates the gain in body weight and fat in response to high-fat diet in mice and these effects were improved when administered in combination with whey protein supplement.

SUMMARY

30 days oral administration to mice of a novel blend containing African mango seed extract, citrus fruits extract, Coleus forskohlii root extract, dihydrocapsiate and red pepper fruit extract reduced body weight and fat gain in response to high-fat diet without impairing muscle mass.The novel blend stimulated thermogenesis as shown by the increased thermal imaging and UCP1 protein expression in brown adipose tissue, indicating that improvement in body composition potentially occurred due to a fat-burning effect.The positive effects on body weight, fat, and thermogenesis were improved when the novel blend was administered in combination with a whey protein supplement suggesting that protein provides a synergistic fat-burning effect. Abbreviations Used: BAT: Brown adipose tissue, UCP1: Uncoupling protein 1, DEXA: Dual-energy X-ray absorptiometry.

Comparison of antimicrobial activities of natural essential oils and synthetic fragrances against selected environmental pathogens

Plant essential oils (EOs) are known to inhibit the growth of bacteria and fungi. Whether these antimicrobial effects are comparable to synthetic household products is less clear. Furthermore, limited research is available on the potential additive effect of blending EOs. In this investigation, a new EO blend containing orange, patchouli, peppermint, and clary sage was compared to its individual single oils and to three household products–air freshener, liquid soap, and body spray–for their ability to inhibit the growth of Staphylococcus aureus, Streptococcus pneumoniae, Pseudonomas aeruginosa, and Aspergillus brasiliensis in the disc-diffusion assay. The new EO blend significantly inhibited the growth of the four microorganisms. The zones of inhibition of new EO blend were greater than the air freshener and similar to the liquid soap and body spray, with the exception of Str. pneumoniae in which the body spray provided greater inhibitory zone. The new EO blend and the single oils, with the exception of peppermint, equally inhibited the growth of S. aureus and Str. pneumoniae suggesting no additive effect. P. aeruginosa and A. brasiliensis showed variable susceptibility to all EOs except for no susceptibility to orange and limonene. No difference was found between (−) and (+)-limonene; whereas, (+)-menthol showed greater effect than (−)-menthol. In conclusion, blending the EO of orange, patchouli, peppermint, and clary sage was beneficial in inhibiting the growth of S. aureus, Str. pneumoniae, P. aeruginosa, and A. brasiliensis providing a natural antimicrobial fragrance option over synthetics fragrances used in soaps, body sprays, and air fresheners.

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A new essential oil blend inhibited the growth of four common environmental pathogens.

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The antimicrobial activity of a natural essential oil blend was similar or better to three synthetic products.

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Peppermint essential oil was the main ingredient in the essential oil blend that provided the antimicrobial activity.

In vivo transscleral iontophoresis of amikacin to rabbit eyes

The objectives of these studies were to determine the amount and distribution of the aminoglycoside antibiotic amikacin delivered to rabbit eyes following transscleral iontophoresis and to determine the inter-study reproducibility of delivery over three identical studies. New Zealand White rabbits (N = 6 per dose group) were treated with a 200-mg/mL amikacin solution at 0, 2, 3 or 4 mA of (+) DC current for 20 minutes. Amikacin concentrations in eye tissues were highest with the 4-mA treatment. Concentrations for all three studies at this current were approximately 5.4, 40, 41, 343, and 92 mcg/g in the vitreous humor, anterior segment, non-treated hemisphere of the sclera, treated hemisphere of the sclera, and retina/choroid, respectively. These values were approximately 27, 50, 40, 10, and 13 fold greater than in the 0-mA control group and are well above the in vitro minimum inhibitory concentrations (MICs) for this drug. Inter-study reproducibility (measured as %CV) depended on the tissue type and treatment group and ranged from 8% for the retina/choroid to 51% for the anterior segment in the 4-mA group. Pretreatment with topical proparacaine hydrochloride local anesthetic did not affect amikacin delivery and total drug delivered was not affected by delivery time for the same total charge administered. Therapeutically relevant amounts of amikacin were delivered into eye tissues in a reproducible and controllable manner.

Determination of underivatized fumonisin B1 and related compounds by HPLC

A method is presented for determining the purity of the mycotoxin fumonisin B1 (FB1) by high performance liquid chromatography (HPLC) with evaporative light scattering detection (ELSD). The ELSD is a universal HPLC detector that exhibits a non-linear relationship between analyte amount and the resulting response. A log-log plot of ELSD response with the mass of FB1 injected was used as a calibration curve for determining the quantities of both FB1 and also individual impurities present in samples. Assumptions related to the uniformity of ELSD response for different but related compounds and other issues implied in this use of ELSD data were examined. One potential error produced by use of this method for purity analysis comes from the ELSD's decreased sensitivity for low-concentration analytes. Because analytes become more dilute the longer they remain on a chromatographic column, this sensitivity discrimination can be related to the retention times at which they appear. The ELSD response for FB1 at retention time 15.5 minutes was used to construct a general purpose calibration curve. Whenever a peak appeared at any time other than 15.5 minutes, the discrimination effect was corrected using a an empirically determined weighting factor and a proportion calculated from the retention time difference compared to 15.5 minutes. Purities for two fumonisin samples were calculated using both the ELSD method described above and an electrospray/mass spectrometric method. The quantitative assumptions underlying each method were discussed in order to understand and reconcile differences between the two sets of purity values obtained.

Characterization of nitrosation products in cosmetics raw materials by liquid chromatography/mass spectrometry techniques

Characterization of nitrosation products in cosmetics raw material samples has been accomplished by three liquid chromatography/mass spectrometry (LC/MS) techniques. Two of the techniques involved conventional methodologies of LC/MS and LC/tandem mass spectrometry, both of which can be used to detect and identify products formed under extreme-nitrosation conditions. The third technique utilized an on-line coupling of a photolysis reactor with the LC/MS, and it may be used as a rapid and specific means of screening for the presence of known and unknown N-nitrosamines, which may be carcinogenic.

Collision-Induced Dissociations of Deprotonated Dipeptide Methyl Esters Containing Serine or Threonine

The collision-induced mass spectra (MS/MS) of (M - H)- ions derived from dipeptide methyl esters containing serine or threonine lack the characteristic backbone cleavage of the underivatized peptides (which provide primary sequencing data). Instead, competitive fragmentation occurs through the ester and α-side chain functions. For example, Ser methyl esters lose both CH2O (from the side chain) and MeOH ( MeO comes from the methyl ester). Isomeric dipeptides may be differentiated by competitive fragmentations; for example [ Gly Ser( OMe )-H]- fragments first by loss of CH2O, while [Ser Gly ( OMe )-H]-, in contrast, shows initial elimination of MeOH. The structures of the product ions in these spectra have been probed by deuterium labelling and MS/MS/MS studies.