Polysaccharide Extracted from Laminaria japonica Delays Intrinsic Skin Aging in Mice

• Published in: Evidence-based complementary and alternative medicine Vol. 2016; no. 2016; pp. 1 - 8
• Main Authors: Mo, Manqiu, Wei, Huifen, Li, Jing, Tan, Jiyong, Huang, Liangzhao, Qin, Wu, You, Manhang, Xu, Xiaozhen, Tan, Haitao, Yang, Xiaomei, Tan, Jia, Hu, Longyuan, Li, Siqi
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: Cairo, Egypt Hindawi Publishing Corporation 01.01.2016; Hindawi Limited
• Subjects: Aging; Antioxidants; Bioengineering; Breakdowns; Chinese medicine; Collagen; Enzymes; Fibroblasts; Kinases; Laminaria; Laminaria japonica; Metabolism; Phosphorylation; Protein expression; Proteins; Rodents; Skin; China
• ISSN: 1741-427X; 1741-4288
• DOI: 10.1155/2016/5137386

This study aimed to determine the effect of topically applied Laminaria polysaccharide (LP) on skin aging. We applied ointment containing LP (10, 25, and 50 μg/g) or vitamin E (10 μg/g) to the dorsal skin of aging mice for 12 months and young control mice for 4 weeks. Electron microscopy analysis of skin samples revealed that LP increased dermal thickness and skin collagen content. Tissue inhibitor of metalloprotease- (TIMP-) 1 expression was upregulated while that of matrix metalloproteinase- (MMP-) 1 was downregulated in skin tissue of LP-treated as compared to untreated aging mice. Additionally, phosphorylation of c-Jun N-terminal kinase (JNK) and p38 was higher in aging skin than in young skin, while LP treatment suppressed phospho-JNK expression. LP application also enhanced the expression of antioxidative enzymes in skin tissue, causing a decrease in malondialdehyde levels and increases in superoxide dismutase, catalase, and glutathione peroxidase levels relative to those in untreated aging mice. These results indicate that LP inhibits MMP-1 expression by preventing oxidative stress and JNK phosphorylation, thereby delaying skin collagen breakdown during aging.