Abstract
Axillary osmidrosis (AO) is a common chronic skin condition characterized by unpleasant body odors emanating from the armpits, and its aetiology is not fully understood. AO can seriously impair the psychosocial well-being of the affected individuals; however, no causal therapy has been established for it other than surgical treatment. Recent studies have revealed that human ATP-binding cassette transporter C11 (ABCC11) is an AO risk factor when it is expressed in the axillary apocrine glands—the sources of the offensive odors. Hence, identifying safe ways to inhibit ABCC11 may offer a breakthrough in treating AO. We herein screened for ABCC11-inhibitory activities in 34 natural products derived from plants cultivated for human consumption using an in vitro assay system to measure the ABCC11-mediated transport of radiolabeled dehydroepiandrosterone sulfate (DHEA-S—an ABCC11 substrate). The water extract of soybean (Glycine max) was found to exhibit the strongest transport inhibition. From this extract, via a fractionation approach, we successfully isolated and identified genistein, a soy isoflavone, as a novel ABCC11 inhibitor with a half-maximal inhibitory concentration value of 61.5 μM. Furthermore, we examined the effects of other dietary flavonoids on the ABCC11-mediated DHEA-S transport to uncover the effects of these phytochemicals on ABCC11 function. While further human studies are needed, our findings here about the natural compounds will help develop a non-surgical therapy for AO.
Highlights
Offensive or strong body odors can be a source of social embarrassment
We examined the ATP-binding cassette transporter C11 (ABCC11)-inhibitory activities of 34 dietary plant products using an in vitro transport assay system
For the ABCC11-inhibitory properties of natural products, we focused on plants commonly found in the human diet including citruses, tea leaves, soybeans, and miso, a traditional grain-based fermented food in Japan [16]
Summary
Offensive or strong body odors can be a source of social embarrassment. Axillary osmidrosis (AO) is a chronic skin condition characterized by such body odors and excessive sweating from the armpits [1]. In Asian countries such as Japan and China where fewer people have strong body odor, AO is perceived even more negatively [2]. Except for surgical treatments, no causal therapy has been established for AO. The inhibition of human ATP-binding cassette transporter C11 (ABCC11, known as MRP8)—a risk factor of AO—may induce physiological changes related to body odors [1,3–5]. ABCC11 is one of Nutrients 2020, 12, 2452; doi:10.3390/nu12082452 www.mdpi.com/journal/nutrients
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