• Korean Journal of Fisheries and Aquatic Sciences
• /
• v.49 no.5
• /
• pp.589-593
• /
• 2016

Propionibacterium acnes infection in skin tissue often causes acne vulgaris, commonly characterized by inflammatory papules, pustules, and nodules. Chitosan and its derivatives possess strong anti-inflammatory effects. In this study, the anti-inflammatory activity of chitosan-phytochemical conjugates on P. acnes-infected human skin keratinocytes (HaCaT) was evaluated. We designed a model of P. acnes-induced inflammation in viable HaCaT cells. Nitric oxide (NO), an inflammatory marker, was successfully elevated by P. acnes infection in HaCaT cells in a dose-dependent manner. Furthermore, the levels of NO were reduced by treatment with chitosan-phytochemical conjugates (chitosan-caffeic acid, -ferulic acid and -sinapic acid) in a dose-dependent manner. Among these conjugates, chitosan-caffeic acid exhibited the strongest NO suppression in HaCaT cells infected with P. acnes. The results obtained in this study suggest that chitosan-phytochemical conjugates could be used as a potential therapeutic agent against acne vulgaris.