• Journal of the Korean Wood Science and Technology
• /
• v.37 no.3
• /
• pp.208-215
• /
• 2009

As a fundamental study to develop absorbing materials on harmful volatile organic compounds (VOC) such as formaldehyde, structural and crystalline characteristics of MDF carbonized at different temperatures were examined by a scanning electron microscope and an X-ray diffraction method. Fibers in surface layer of MDFs showed more compressed morphology than those in middle layer of MDFs, but the porosity of MDFs increased with increasing the carbonized temperature. The wrinkle shape was frequently surfaces of cell walls was more severe than that at the lumina of cells. The shape of pits in the fibers of carbonized MDFs were hardly changed. The cell walls of MDFs carbonized at $400^{\circ}C$ and over showed an amorphous-like structure without cell layering. X-ray diffratograms from the MDFs carbonized at $400^{\circ}C$ showed a trace of crystalline cellulose. On the other hand, an amorphous diffraction pattern from carbons was obtained with the MDFs carbonized at $1,000^{\circ}C$.

• Journal of the Society of Cosmetic Scientists of Korea
• /
• v.30 no.2
• /
• pp.167-172
• /
• 2004

In the human skin, vitamin C (L -ascorbic acid) that is well known as the activated materials has effects that is skin anti-aging and wrinkle repair by giving impetus to collagen biosynthesis and anti-oxidation, and that is the sun screen, a wound recovering, inhibition melanogenesis and so on. In spite of its effects, vitamin C has the defects of the skin stimulation and easily oxidized instability by water, air, heat and light. For solving their matters, many investigation is advanced and its results are synthesized the various vitamin C derivatives. And yet they have not solved the unstable property of vitamin C and were still insufficient for the comparing with the effect of the pure vitamin C itself. In this study, in order to prepare vitamin C derivative of being improved the stability and to apply vitamin C effect in the skin, we prepared new vitamin C derivative, phytosphingosine ascorbate, by using phytosphingosine, one of sphingolipids, which have a distinguished skin affinity. Phytosphingosine ascorbate can be prepared as the ionic bond between amine group (-NH$_2$) of phytosphingosine and hydroxy group (-OH) of vitamin C by way of the relatively simple reaction. So the structure and properties of the synthesized phytosphingosine ascorbate was confirmed the use of elemental analysis (C 58.3 : H 9.3 : N 2.8 : O 29.5), MALDI TOF-MS (Mw=492.58), Ultraviolet spectra (268.5nm), lH NMR, FT-IR spectra, thermal analysis (m.p=l54$^{\circ}C$), HPLC and so on. And we could confirm the anti-bacterial and anti-oxidation effects. Based on these results, we could confirm to prepare a new material that was expected of both effects of vitamin C and phytosphingosine and that is improved properties of vitamin C.

• Proceedings of the Korean Society of Applied Pharmacology
• /
• 2007.11a
• /
• pp.79-92
• /
• 2007

Oxidative stress have known to be a risk factor for the degenerative processes and closely related to a lot of diseases. It is well established that antioxidants are good in protection and therapeutic means against oxidative damage. There is increasing interest in natural antioxidants and many natural antioxidants have been found and utilized as the possible protection for various diseases and skin aging. We have screened natural antioxidant agents for cosmeceuticals, nutraceuticals, and drugs as therapeutic and preventive means against oxidative stress, and have developed a number of novel antioxidants from various natural sources. A novel melanin synthesis inhibitor, Melanocin A, isolated from the metabolite of a fungal strain Eupenicillium shearii F80695 inhibited mushroom tyrosinase and melanin biosynthesis of B16 melanoma cells with $IC_{50}$ value of 9.0 nM and MIC value of $0.9\;{\mu}M$, respectively. Melanocin A also exhibited potent antioxidant activity by scavenging of DPPH and superoxide anion radicals. UV was found to increase the level of hydrogen peroxides and other reactive oxygen species (ROS) in skin tissues. This increase in ROS may not only alter the structure and function of many genes and proteins directly but may also modulate their expressions through signal transduction pathways and, ultimately, lead to skin damage. We investigated the effect of Melanocin A on UV-induced premature skin aging. Firstly, the effect of Melanocin A on UV-induced matrix metalloproteinase (MMP)-9 expression in an immortalized human keratinocyte cell line, HaCaT in vitro was investigated. Acute UV irradiation induced MMP-9 expression at both the mRNA and protein levels and Melanocin A suppressed this expression in a dose-dependent manner. We then investigated UV-induced skin changes in hairless mice in vivo by Melanocin A. Chronic exposure of hairless mouse dorsal skin to UV increased skin thickness and induced wrinkle formation and the gelatinase activities of MMP-2 and MMP-9. Moreover, Melanocin A significantly suppressed UV-induced morphologic skin changes and MMP-2 and MMP-9 expression. These results show that Melanocin A can prevent the harmful effects of UV that lead to skin aging. Therefore, we suggest that Melanocin A should be viewed as a potential therapeutic agent for preventing and/or treating premature skin aging. Terrein is a bioactive fungal metabolite isolated from Penicillium species. Terrein has a relatively simple structure and can be easily synthesized. However, the biologic effects of terrein are comparatively unknown. We found for the first time that terrein potently inhibit melanin production in melanocytes and has a strong hypopigmentary effect in a spontaneously immortalized mouse melanocyte cell line, Mel-Ab. Treatment of Mel-Ab cells with terrein (10-100 mM) for 4 days significantly reduced melanin levels in a dose-dependent manner. In addition, terrein at the same concentration also reduced tyrosinase activity. We then investigated whether terrein influences the extracellular signal-regulated protein kinase (ERK) pathway and the expression of microphthalmia-associated transcription factor (MITF), which is required for tyrosinase expression. Terrein was found to induce sustained ERK activation and MITF down-regulation, and luciferase assays showed that terrein inhibits MITF promoter activity in a dose-dependent manner. To elucidate the correlation between ERK pathway activation and a decreased MITF transcriptional level, PD98059, a specific inhibitor of the ERK pathway, was applied before terrain treatment and found to abrogate the terrein-induced MITF attenuation. Terrein also reduced the tyrosinase protein level for at least 72 h. These results suggest that terrain reduces melanin synthesis by reducing tyrosinase production via ERK activation, and that this is followed by MITF down-regulation.

• Journal of the Society of Cosmetic Scientists of Korea
• /
• v.39 no.3
• /
• pp.177-186
• /
• 2013

Skin dermal fibroblast is the major collagen-producing cell type in human skin. As aging process continues in human skin, collagen production is reduced and fragmentation is increased, which is initiated by matrix metalloproteinase-1 (MMP-1). This imbalance of collagen homeostasis impairs the structure and function of dermal collagenous extracellular matrix (ECM), thereby promoting skin aging. Cysteine-rich protein 61 (CCN1), a member of the CCN family, negatively regulates collagen homeostasis in primary human skin dermal fibroblast cells. It is known in aging fibroblast cells that elevated CCN1 expression substantially reduces type I procollagen and concurrently increases MMP-1, which initiates fibrillar collagen degradation. And proliferation rate of aging fibroblast cells is reduced compared to the pre-aging fibroblast cells. In this study, we confirmed that the replicative senescence dermal fibroblast cells increased the expression levels of MMP-1 and decreased the production of type I procollagen. Our results also showed that the replicative senescence dermal fibroblast cells increased in the expression of CCN1 and decreased in the proliferation rate. Hydrolyzed Ulva pertusa extracts are the materials to improve photo-aging by reducing the expression of MMP-1 that was increased by ultraviolet and by promoting the synthesis of new collagen from fibroblast cells. In this study, we also investigated the hydrolyzed U. pertusa extract to see whether it inhibits CCN1 protein expression in the senescence fibroblasts. Results showed that the hydrolyzed U. pertusa extract inhibited the expression of MMP-1 and increased the production of type I procollagen in the aging skin fibroblast cells cultured. In addition, the proteins that regulate collagen homeostasis CCN1 expression were greatly reduced. The hydrolyzed U. pertusa extract increased the proliferation rate of the aging fibroblast cells. These results suggest that replicative senescent fibroblast cells may be used in the study of cosmetic ingredients as a model of the natural aging. In conclusion, the hydrolyzed U. pertusa extract can be used in anti-wrinkle functional cosmetic material to improve the natural aging skin care as well as photo-aging.