Abstract
Insects are some of the most diverse organisms on the planet, and have potential value as food or medicine. Here, we investigated the photoprotective properties of insect extracts using hairless mice. The alleviating wrinkle formation effects of insect extracts were evaluated by histological skin analysis to determine epidermal thickness and identify collagen fiber damage. Moreover, we investigated the ability of the insect extracts to alleviate UVB-induced changes to matrix metalloproteinases (MMPs), oxidative damage, the mitogen-activated protein kinases (MAPKs) signaling pathway, and the expression of pro-inflammatory cytokines. Insect extracts reduced UVB-induced skin winkles, epidermal thickening, and collagen breakdown, and alleviated the epidermal barrier dysfunction induced by UVB, including the increased loss of transepidermal water. Moreover, the expression of skin hydration-related markers such as hyaluronic acid, transforming growth factor-beta (TGF-β), and procollagen was upregulated in the group treated with insect extracts compared to the vehicle-treated group after ultraviolet B (UVB) exposure. UVB irradiation also upregulated the expression of MMPs, the phosphorylation of MAPKs, and pro-inflammatory cytokines, which were all attenuated by the oral administration of insect extracts. These results indicate the photoaging protection effect of insect extracts and the underlying mechanism, demonstrating the potential for clinical development.
Highlights
Edible insects have long formed an integral component of the genetic and cultural heritage in different regions worldwide [1]
The Transepidermal Water Loss (TEWL) tended to be much higher in the ultraviolet B (UVB)-treated vehicle group (Figure 1a), but was lower in the UVB-treated insect extracts groups compared to that of the vehicle group
The uniformly distributed collagen was observed in the dermal layer by Masson’s trichrome staining, and the collagen fibers were restored in the UVB-irradiated insect extracts group compared with the vehicle group (Figure 2b)
Summary
Edible insects have long formed an integral component of the genetic and cultural heritage in different regions worldwide [1]. Excessive levels of MMPs by photoaging can induce the impairment of structural integrity in the dermis and epidermis, which is evaluated by increased roughness, thickening, coarse wrinkles, and irregular pigmentation [13]. We confirmed the photoprotective efficacy on UV-induced skin damage of extracts from four different insect species: Allomyrina dichotoma larva (ADL), Protaetia brevitarsis seulensis (PBS), Tenebrio molitor Linnaeus (TML), and Gryllus bimaculatus De Geer (GBD). These four edible insects have been registered in Food Standards and Specificaitons (No 2017-102, 15 December 2017) of the Ministry of Food and Drug Safety of Korea (MFDS), and can be distributed and sold as food [16]. These effects were examined by various parameters of photoaging
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