Phosphatidylserine – anti-wrinkle medicine?
Normal aging processes, as well as the impact of external factors, such as ultraviolet radiation, leads to the fact that smooth young skin becomes rough and covered with wrinkles. Attempts to slow down, stop or even reverse the process of wrinkle formation gave rise to a huge scientific and industrial industry. Unfortunately, most anti-wrinkle creams, when examined by independent experts, show much more modest results than the manufacturing companies promise, so the search for substances that can effectively combat age-related skin changes continues.
Korean scientists led by Dr. Jin Ho Chung tested the ability of seven natural lipids to slow skin aging on human keratinocytes and skin samples. In their work, they proceeded from the fact that the basis for the formation of wrinkles is a decrease in the production of new collagen in the skin and an increase in the level of matrix metalloproteinase enzymes (matrix metalloproteinase, MMPs) that cleave existing collagen.
The ability to prevent UV-induced decrease in the synthesis of procollagen (collagen precursor) was demonstrated by the following compounds: phosphatidylserine (phosphatidylserine, PS), lysophosphatidylserine (lysophosphatidylserine, LPS), lysophosphatidic acid (lysophosphatidic acid, LPA), N-acetylphytosphingosine (N-acetyl phytosphingosine, NAPS), and tetraacetylphytosphingosine (tetraacetyl phytosphingosine, TAPS). Moreover, PS, LPS and LPA enhanced the expression of procollagen. NAPS, TAPS, LPA, PS, lysophosphatidylglycerol (lysophosphatidylglycerol) and LPS also had the ability to reduce the expression of matrix metalloproteinase-1 induced by ultraviolet radiation.
In experiments on samples of aging skin and young skin exposed to ultraviolet radiation, phosphatidylserine, which is part of the inner layer of the plasma membrane of the cell, phospholipid, which includes the amino acid serine, showed the highest efficiency in all the parameters studied. Most of this phospholipid is contained in the membranes of neurons, so it is included in the composition of biologically active additives, which (at least, according to the assurances of manufacturers) have a beneficial effect on the state of the brain and are especially recommended as a remedy against senile decline in mental functions.
Since oral administration of phosphatidylserine is recognized as at least harmless, the authors investigated its effect on the skin in humans without fear: a 2% solution of phosphatidylserine was applied to a small area of the buttock skin of young and elderly volunteers. In a group of young subjects, the skin was exposed to ultraviolet radiation. In both natural and UV-induced skin aging, the application of phosphatidylserine prevented a decrease in collagen synthesis and increased activity of matrix metalloproteinases compared to untreated skin.
The authors emphasize that in order to obtain evidence of the therapeutic efficacy of phosphatidylserine, larger and longer clinical trials are necessary, but preliminary results indicate that a simple and safe method of combating the biological mechanisms of skin aging may soon appear.
The article Soyun Cho et al. "Phosphatidylserine prevents UV-induced decrease of type I procollagen and increase of MMP-1 in dermal fibroblasts and human skin in vivo" is published in the Journal of Lipid Research.
Portal "Eternal youth" www.vechnayamolodost.ru based on the materials of ScienceDaily
09.06.2008