Cosmetic Compounds Research Articles

Environmental Impact on Seaweed Phenolic Production and Activity: An Important Step for Compound Exploitation.

Seaweeds are a potential source of bioactive compounds that are useful for biotechnological applications and can be employed in different industrial areas in order to replace synthetic compounds with components of natural origin. Diverse studies demonstrate that there is a solid ground for the exploitation of seaweed bioactive compounds in order to prevent illness and to ensure a better and healthier lifestyle. Among the bioactive algal molecules, phenolic compounds are produced as secondary metabolites with beneficial effects on plants, and also on human beings and animals, due to their inherent bioactive properties, which exert antioxidant, antiviral, and antimicrobial activities. The use of phenolic compounds in pharmaceutical, nutraceutical, cosmetics, and food industries may provide outcomes that could enhance human health. Through the production of healthy foods and natural drugs, bioactive compounds from seaweeds can help with the treatment of human diseases. This review aims to highlight the importance of phenolic compounds from seaweeds, the scope of their production in nature and the impact that these compounds can have on human and animal health through nutraceutical and pharmaceutical products.

Multi-Target Strategy to Uncover Unexpected Compounds in Rinse-Off and Leave-On Cosmetics.

The wide range and complexity of cosmetic formulations currently available on the market poses a challenge from an analytical point of view. In addition, during cosmetics manufacture, impurities coming from raw materials or formed by reaction of different organic compounds present in the formulation may be present. Their identification is mandatory to assure product quality and consumer health. In this work, micro-matrix solid-phase dispersion (μMSPD) is proposed as a multi-target sample preparation strategy to analyze a wide number of unexpected families of compounds including polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs), pesticides, plasticizers, nitrosamines, alkylphenols (APs), and alkylphenol ethoxylates (APEOs). Analytical determination was performed by gas chromatography-mass spectrometry (GC-MS) for the determination of 51 target compounds in a single run, whereas liquid chromatography tandem mass spectrometry (LC-MS/MS) was employed for the analysis of six APs and APEOs. Both methodologies were successfully validated in terms of linearity, accuracy, and precision in leave-on and rinse-off cosmetics. Limits of detection (LODs) were calculated in the low ng g−1, showing their suitability to determine trace levels of impurities and banned compounds with different chemical natures, providing useful tools to cosmetic control laboratories and companies.

Comparison of in-silico modelling and reversed-phase liquid chromatographic retention on an octadecyl silica column to predict skin permeability of pharmaceutical and cosmetic compounds

This study focuses on the in-silico modelling of the skin permeability using a test set of pharmaceutical and cosmetic compounds. Two sets of theoretical molecular descriptors, obtained from the E-Dragon and Vega ZZ software programs, were used in the models. Different linear regression methods, i.e. Multiple Linear Regression (MLR) and Partial Least Squares (PLS) regression, were applied for modelling and estimating the skin permeability. The best model was obtained using a stepwise MLR approach on the E-Dragon descriptor set. In a second step, the retention of the test set compounds was measured on a C18 column at two pH levels: pH 5.5 and pH 7. Different organic-modifier fractions were applied in the mobile phase to be able to extrapolate the retention factors to a log kw value, with kw the estimated retention factor in an aqueous mobile phase without organic modifier. Thereafter it was examined whether combining this chromatographic descriptor with the theoretical descriptors could improve the modelling of the skin permeability. The chromatographic descriptor often did not show an added value compared to the models containing only theoretical descriptors. Therefore, the in-silico models were preferred, and these models could be useful to predict the skin permeability of pharmaceutical and cosmetic compounds.

Techniques of additional Kappaphycus alvarezii on seaweed face mask production

The need for a wide variety of cosmetic products such as masks that require natural active ingredients provides an opportunity for the use of seaweed as a cosmetic ingredient. Kappaphycus alvarezii, one carragaenophtytes, capable of forming a gel in the seaweed to produce good pasta. Ultraviolet radiation is one cause of skin damage all concerned in the cosmetic industry. These include skin damage is skin ageing, several changes in the skin, and skin cancer. Some studies found that some types of seaweed that have antioxidant potential can be applied in cosmetics. Applications antioxidants compounds in cosmetics have functioned as an anti-ageing, protection of body cells, bleach, and UV light protective. Mechanical processing products face mask with the addition of seaweed in BBP2HP through two phases, flouring processes raw materials and making processes seaweed facial mask. Face mask-making techniques with seaweed addition initiated by heating and mixing the oil phase, the aqueous phase, and filler. The addition of seaweed into the face mask can form a thermo-reversible gel that can stabilize the mask preparation and the result of mask-shaped is pasta.

Essential Oils as Natural Sources of Fragrance Compounds for Cosmetics and Cosmeceuticals.

Fragrance is an integral part of cosmetic products and is often regarded as an overriding factor in the selection of cosmetics among consumers. Fragrances also play a considerable role in masking undesirable smells arising from fatty acids, oils and surfactants that are commonly used in cosmetic formulations. Essential oils are vital assets in the cosmetic industry, as along with imparting pleasant aromas in different products, they are able to act as preservatives and active agents and, simultaneously, offer various benefits to the skin. Moreover, the stimulating demand for natural ingredients has contributed massively to a renewed interest in cosmetic and wellness industries in plant derivatives, especially essential oils. This has led popular cosmetic companies to endorse natural fragrances and opt for minimally processed natural ingredients, given the potentially adverse health risks associated with artificial fragrance chemicals, which are major elements of cosmetics. Among the high-valued essential oils used as fragrances are citrus, lavender, eucalyptus, tea tree and other floral oils, among others, while linalool, geraniol, limonene, citronellol, and citral are much-appreciated fragrance components used in different cosmetics. Thus, this review aimed to highlight the enormous versatility of essential oils as significant sources of natural fragrances in cosmetics and cosmeceuticals. Moreover, a special focus will be laid on the different aspects related to essential oils such as their sources, market demand, chemistry, fragrance classification, aroma profile, authenticity and safety.

Fabrication and sustained‐release property of vinyl silica hollow spheres as a delivery system for aroma compounds

AbstractThe application of the aroma compounds in cosmetics, food, medicine, textile, tobacco and so forth brings the charming senses of the smell and taste. However, their main ingredients tend to deterioration due to the fast release and oxidation during the storage and usage. The silica porous materials provide the effective protection for these volatile aroma compounds. In this paper, vinyl silica hollow spheres were successfully prepared via one‐step method with tunable size. Vinyl silica hollow spheres with two sizes of 390 and 650 nm were loaded with aroma compounds. Both of the silica hollow spheres showed the selective loading capacities for aroma compounds. Interestingly, silica hollow spheres with bigger size exhibited the higher encapsulation efficiency of 94.20% and the slower sustained release of 118.3 mg/g after 16 hours of phenylethanol. This is ascribed to bigger interior cavity volume per mass unit analysed by mathematic model. The kinetics of phenylethanol release was also studied. Our work is expected to trigger a new consideration of capsule design for sustained release with high loading efficiency.

First draft genome assembly of the Argane tree( Argania spinosa).

Background: The Argane tree ( Argania spinosa L. Skeels) is an endemic tree of mid-western Morocco that plays an important socioeconomic and ecologic role for a dense human population in an arid zone. Several studies confirmed the importance of this species as a food and feed source and as a resource for both pharmaceutical and cosmetic compounds. Unfortunately, the argane tree ecosystem is facing significant threats from environmental changes (global warming, over-population) and over-exploitation. Limited research has been conducted, however, on argane tree genetics and genomics, which hinders its conservation and genetic improvement. Methods: Here, we present a draft genome assembly of A. spinosa. A reliable reference genome of A. spinosawas created using a hybrid de novo assembly approach combining short and long sequencing reads. Results: In total, 144 Gb Illumina HiSeq reads and 7.6 Gb PacBio reads were produced and assembled. The final draft genome comprises 75 327 scaffolds totaling 671 Mb with an N50 of 49 916 kb. The draft assembly is close to the genome size estimated by k-mers distribution and covers 89% of complete and 4.3 % of partial Arabidopsis orthologous groups in BUSCO. Conclusion: The A. spinosa genome will be useful for assessing biodiversity leading to efficient conservation of this endangered endemic tree. Furthermore, the genome may enable genome-assisted cultivar breeding, and provide a better understanding of important metabolic pathways and their underlying genes for both cosmetic and pharmacological.

First draft genome assembly of the Argane tree ( Argania spinosa)

Background: The Argane tree ( Argania spinosa L. Skeels) is an endemic tree of mid-western Morocco that plays an important socioeconomic and ecologic role for a dense human population in an arid zone. Several studies confirmed the importance of this species as a food and feed source and as a resource for both pharmaceutical and cosmetic compounds. Unfortunately, the argane tree ecosystem is facing significant threats from environmental changes (global warming, over-population) and over-exploitation. Limited research has been conducted, however, on argane tree genetics and genomics, which hinders its conservation and genetic improvement. Methods: Here, we present a draft genome assembly of A. spinosa. A reliable reference genome of A. spinosa was created using a hybrid de novo assembly approach combining short and long sequencing reads. Results: In total, 144 Gb Illumina HiSeq reads and 7.6 Gb PacBio reads were produced and assembled. The final draft genome comprises 75 327 scaffolds totaling 671 Mb with an N50 of 49 916 kb. The draft assembly is close to the genome size estimated by k-mers distribution and covers 89% of complete and 4.3 % of partial Arabidopsis orthologous groups in BUSCO. Conclusion: The A. spinosa genome will be useful for assessing biodiversity leading to efficient conservation of this endangered endemic tree. Furthermore, the genome may enable genome-assisted cultivar breeding, and provide a better understanding of important metabolic pathways and their underlying genes for both cosmetic and pharmacological.

Office Workers May Be Breathing Potentially Harmful Compounds in Cosmetics

Office Workers May Be Breathing Potentially Harmful Compounds in Cosmetics

Exploring the metabolomic diversity of plant species across spatial (leaf and stem) components and phylogenic groups

BackgroundPlants have been used as an important source of indispensable bioactive compounds in various cosmetics, foods, and medicines. However, the subsequent functional annotation of these compounds seems arduous because of the largely uncharacterized, vast metabolic repertoire of plant species with known biological phenotypes. Hence, a rapid multi-parallel screening and characterization approach is needed for plant functional metabolites.ResultsFifty-one species representing three plant families, namely Asteraceae, Fabaceae, and Rosaceae, were subjected to metabolite profiling using gas chromatography time-of-flight mass spectrometry (GC-TOF-MS) and ultrahigh-performance liquid chromatography quadrupole orbitrap ion trap tandem mass spectrometry (UHPLC-Q-orbitrap-MS/MS) as well as multivariate analyses. Partial least squares discriminant analysis (PLS-DA) of the metabolite profiling datasets indicated a distinct clustered pattern for 51 species depending on plant parts (leaves and stems) and relative phylogeny. Examination of their relative metabolite contents showed that the extracts from Fabaceae plants were abundant in amino acids, fatty acids, and genistein compounds. However, the extracts from Rosaceae had higher levels of catechin and ellagic acid derivatives, whereas those from Asteraceae were higher in kaempferol derivatives and organic acids. Regardless of the different families, aromatic amino acids, branch chain amino acids, chlorogenic acid, flavonoids, and phenylpropanoids related to the shikimate pathway were abundant in leaves. Alternatively, certain amino acids (proline, lysine, and arginine) as well as fatty acids levels were higher in stem extracts. Further, we investigated the associated phenotypes, i.e., antioxidant activities, affected by the observed spatial (leaves and stem) and intra-family metabolomic disparity in the plant extracts. Pearson’s correlation analysis indicated that ellagic acid, mannitol, catechin, epicatechin, and quercetin derivatives were positively correlated with antioxidant phenotypes, whereas eriodictyol was positively correlated with tyrosinase inhibition activity.ConclusionsThis work suggests that metabolite profiling, including multi-parallel approaches and integrated bioassays, may help the expeditious characterization of plant-derived metabolites while simultaneously unraveling their chemodiversity.

Assessment of the purification of phycobiliproteins in cyanobacteria through aqueous two-phase systems with different proportions of PEG/salt

Cyanobacteria are photosynthesizing prokaryotic microorganisms that stand out by the production of phycobiliproteins, which can be used as therapeutic agents, tools for medical diagnosis and as natural compounds for food coloring and cosmetics. Therefore, in order to purify the most relevant phycobiliproteins [phycocyanin (PC), allophycocyanin (APC) and phycoerythrin (PE)] from Anabaena variabilis and Nostoc sp., an aqueous two-phase system (ATPS) with different proportions of PEG/salt was used. The system was composed by PEG1500 and different salts, including potassium phosphate, sodium citrate and ammonium sulfate. Notably, both strains revealed high concentrations of phycobiliproteins when compared to other studies, highlighting the efficacy of the method. The highest values of the partition coefficient (K) observed in A. variabilis were obtained by 13% (w/w) PEG 14% (w/w) potassium phosphate proportion (KPC=8.63 KAPC=5.11 and KPE=4,94) and for Nostoc sp., 13%PEG/14% sodium citrate proportion (KPC=17.18, KAPC=32,65 and KPE=7.15).

Perception of alcohol policies by consumers of unrecorded alcohol - an exploratory qualitative interview study with patients of alcohol treatment facilities in Russia

BackgroundOver the last decade Russia has introduced various policy measures to reduce alcohol consumption and alcohol-related harm at the population level. Several of these policies, such as higher pricing and taxation or restrictions of availability, may not work in the case of unrecorded alcohol consumption; they may encourage consumers to switch to unrecorded alcohol and even increase consumption. In the present qualitative interview study we explore the perception of the recently implemented alcohol policies by patients diagnosed with alcohol dependence in two Russian cities in the years 2013–2014 and shed light on possible entry-points to prevention.MethodsSemi-structured in-depth expert interviews were conducted with 25 patients of state-run drug and alcohol treatment centers in two Russian cities in 2013 and 2014. The interviews were analyzed using thematic content analysis.ResultsAll of the interviewed participants have consumed unrecorded at some point with the majority being regular consumers, mostly switching between recorded and unrecorded alcohol depending on the situation, as predominantly defined by available money and available sources of alcohol. Low price and high availability were reported as the main reasons for unrecorded consumption. Participants voiced a general mistrust of the recently implemented alcohol regulations and viewed them largely as ineffective. They expressed particular concerns over price increases and restriction of night sales of alcoholic beverages. Substantial shifts within the unrecorded alcohol market were reported, with a decreasing availability of home-made beverages in favor of alcohol surrogates in the form of non-beverage alcohol, medicinal and cosmetic compounds. At the same time consumption of home-made alcoholic beverages was seen as a strategy to avoid counterfeit alcohol, which was frequently reported for retail sale.ConclusionsDespite the alcohol policy changes in the last years in Russia, consumption of unrecorded alcohol remained common for people with alcohol dependence. Reduction of availability of unrecorded alcohol, first and foremost in the form of cheap surrogates, is urgently needed to reduce alcohol-related harm. Implementation of screening and brief interventions for excessive alcohol consumption in various contexts such as primary healthcare settings, trauma treatment services or the workplace could be another important measure targeting consumers of unrecorded alcohol.

Renewable sources: applications in personal care formulations.

A global tendency for products considered environmentally sustainable, and ecologically obtained led the industry related to personal care formulations to fund the research and the development of personal care/cosmetics containing ingredients from natural resources. Furthermore, consumers are aware of environmental and sustainability issueans, thus not harming the environment represents a key consideration when developing a new cosmetic ingredient. In this study we review some examples of active ingredients or raw materials used in cosmetics/personal care/biomedical products that are coming from either through biotechnological systems, or as byproducts of several industries. A skin formulation containing biosynthetic actives, prepared by us and the study regarding its dermocosmetic properties are also described. The need for the standardization processes, the safety assessment tools, the improvement of the exploitation methods of these renewable sources in order the production to be ecologically and economically better are also discussed.

Development of a Hybrid Chitosan- and Niacinamide-Coupled ZnO Nanoparticle Composite for Sun Protection Application

Zinc oxide nanoparticles (ZnO) have long been utilized as UV-protective sunscreen components due to their high durability and lower skin irritation while maintaining capability for blocking UV rays. However, the dispersal and transparency properties of ZnO need to be enhanced in order to improve the capacity for creating effective sunscreen through control of the physiochemical properties of ZnO. In this study, chitosan or niacinamide, which are suitable functional cosmetic compounds and effective skin lightening agents, are combined with ZnO for the development of better UV-protective products. Each biocompatible coating material is individually attached on its surface after the synthesis of ZnO. The size is 70 nm using the sol-gel method. Their morphology and chemical structure are characterized by FT-IR, XRD, SEM, TEM, TGA, and zeta potential. The results indicate that approximately 50% of chitosan and 5% niacinamide were coated on the ZnO. To confirm the capacity of each surface-coated ZnO with chitosan and niacinamide as a sunscreen, we measured their transmission, reflectance, and sun protection factor (SPF) using a UV spectrophotometer and SPF. As a result, the niacinamide-coated ZnO shows remarkably lower transmission and high reflectance against UV rays than that of bare ZnO and chitosan-coated ZnO. Furthermore, niacinamide-coated ZnO exhibits great lightening effects. Consequently, these results demonstrate that niacinamide coating is highly effective for the production of sunscreen emulsions.

Improving Cosmetic Activity by Optimizing Centella asiatica Extraction Process

This study showed the use of Centella asiatica as a good source of compounds for skin therapy and antioxidant activation cosmetics. The goal of this study was to provide cosmeceutical activity data about the extraction yield and total phenol content of C. asiatica by optimizing the focused high ultrasound (INEFU) and ultrasound extraction (UE) conditions. Under optimal extraction conditions, that is, 1800 W for 45 minutes and 500 W for 45 minutes, 28.73% and 30.21% (w/w) of the highest extraction yields and polyphenol contents were obtained, respectively. For the skin whitening activity, tyrosinase inhibitory activity was observed at 61.52% in INEFU extracts, which was circa 20.3% higher than that of UE extracts (51.11%). To reduce melanin production in Clone M-3 cells, 86.9% melanin production was observed following the addition of control, water extraction relative to the control without a sample, and 79.6% and 74.5% were found in UE and INEFU conditions, respectively. In conclusion, the highest total phenol secretion was obtained under optimal conditions and resulted in a significant improvement in the cosmetic activities of C. asiatica extracts.

Engineering D-Lactate Dehydrogenase from Pediococcus acidilactici for Improved Activity on 2-Hydroxy Acids with Bulky C3 Functional Group.

Engineering D-lactic acid dehydrogenases for higher activity on various 2-oxo acids is important for the synthesis of 2-hydroxy acids that can be utilized in a wide range of industrial fields including the production of biopolymers, pharmaceuticals, and cosmetic compounds. Although there are many D-lactate dehydrogenases (D-LDH) available from a diverse range of sources, there is a lack of biocatalysts with high activities for 2-oxo acids with large functional group at C3. In this study, the D-LDH from Pediococcus acidilactici was rationally designed and further engineered by controlling the intermolecular interactions between substrates and the surrounding residues via analysis of the active site structure of D-LDH. As a result, Y51L mutant with the catalytic efficiency on phenylpyruvate of 2200s-1mM-1 and Y51F mutant on 2-oxobutryate and 3-methyl-2-oxobutyrate of 37.2 and 23.2s-1mM-1 were found, which were 138-, 8.5-, and 26-fold increases than the wild type on the substrates, respectively. Structural analysis revealed that the distance and the nature of the interactions between the side chain of residue 51 and the substrate C3 substituent group significantly affected the kinetic parameters. Bioconversion of phenyllactate as a practical example of production of the 2-hydroxy acids was investigated, and the Y51F mutant presented the highest productivity in in vitro conversion of D-PLA.

Plant and Microalgae Derived Peptides Are Advantageously Employed as Bioactive Compounds in Cosmetics.

Bioactive peptides (BP) are specific protein fragments that are physiologically important for most living organisms. It is proven that in humans they are involved in a wide range of therapeutic activities as antihypertensive, antioxidant, anti-tumoral, anti-proliferative, hypocholesterolemic, and anti-inflammatory. In plants, BP are involved in the defense response, as well as in the cellular signaling and the development regulation. Most of the peptides used as ingredients in health-promoting foods, dietary supplements, pharmaceutical, and cosmeceutical preparations are obtained by chemical synthesis or by partial digestion of animal proteins. This makes them not fully accepted by the consumers because of the risks associated with solvent contamination or the use of animal derived substances. On the other hand, plant and microalgae derived peptides are known to be selective, effective, safe, and well tolerated once consumed, thus they have got a great potential for use in functional foods, drugs, and cosmetic products. In fact, the interest in the plant and microalgae derived BP is rapidly increasing and in this review, we highlight and discuss the current knowledge about their studies and applications in the cosmetic field.

Tyrosinase inhibitory activity of Sargassum plagyophyllum and Eucheuma cottonii methanol extracts

Tyrosinase is an enzyme that plays a role in the formation of melanin on two reactions, namely monophenolase and diphenolase. The process of melanin formation can be reduced through the inhibition mechanism of the tyrosinase enzyme. Seaweeds are natural organisms that have recognized lightening agents. Sargassum plagyophyllum contains secondary metabolite compounds such as alkaloids, steroids, flavonoids, saponins, and tannins while Eucheuma cottonii contains alkaloids and terpenoids. The aim of this research was to determine the tyrosinase inhibitory activity of seaweeds. The yield of methanol extract amounted to 1.342% in S. plagyophyllum and 0.2599% in E. cottonii. The inhibitory activity of tyrosine is performed by measuring enzymatic reaction using L-tyrosine (monophenolase) and L-DOPA (diphenolase) substrates and presented as IC50 value. The IC50 values of kojic acid as a positive control were 15.566 μg/mL for monophenolase and 29.156 μg/mL for diphenolase. The IC50 values of S. plagyophyllum and E. cottonii methanol extracts for monophenolase were 2195.206 μg/mL and 2691.478 μg/mL, respectively. The IC50 value of methanol extract was 1769.336 μg/mL for S. plagyophyllum and 2631.648 μg/mL for E. cottonii on diphenolase. Methanol extracts from these two species of seaweed have the potential to be developed as bioactive compounds in skin lightening cosmetics.

859 Evaluation of Kojic Acid and Hydroquinone on Melanoderm™ skin model as controls in screening architecture for skin lightening actives and formulas

MelanoDerm™, supplied by MatTek Corporation, Ashland, MA is a commonly used in vitro model to test a formula or ingredient’s impact on melanin and therefore their ability to even or lighten skin tone. MelanoDerm™ is a 3D constructed, live, manufactured skin culture that is widely used as a screening tool in the cosmetic industry to study melanogenesis and pigmentation. In this study, we evaluated well-known cosmetic compounds i.e. hydroquinone and kojic acid causing effects on melanin and melanogenesis in vivo, as relevant benchmark positive controls for in vitro screening architecture of other actives alone or in combination. Hydroquinone was tested in water solution as a single ingredient or as finished goods formulation at the concentration of 2% and Kojic Acid was investigated in water solutions at two different concentrations (1% and 2%) for their ability to reduce existing and new pigment formation on MelanoDerm™ (MEB-300B) tissues after 14 days of topical application. Cell viability was assessed with MTT assay, color measurements (L*, a*, b* values) with chromameter, and in situ histology of the selected tissues was performed with Hematoxylin and Eosin staining. Hydroquinone evaluation in this model was somewhat challenging due to its known cytotoxicity geared specifically towards melanocytes, while kojic acid was safe at the concentration of 1%. Generated data indicate that both actives may be used as positive controls and thus serve as a validated model in screening architecture of the new perspective skin lightening/brightening actives and represent a translation platform between vitro-to-vivo studies.

Ginnalin B induces differentiation markers and modulates the proliferation/differentiation balance via the upregulation of NOTCH1 in human epidermal keratinocytes.

The red maple and sugar maple (Acer rubrum and A. saccharum, respectively) contain acertannins (ginnalins and maplexins), galloylated derivatives of 1,5-anhydro-d-glucitol (1,5-AG, 1). These compounds have a variety of potential medicinal properties and we have shown that some of them promote the expression of ceramide synthase 3. We now report on the beneficial effects of ginnalin B, (6-O-galloyl-1,5-AG, 5), leading to acceleration of skin metabolism and reduction of the turnover time. Ginnalin B dose-dependently increased the relative amount of keratin 10, keratin 1, and filaggrin gene, with maximal increase of 1.7-, 2.9, and 5.2-fold at 100 μM, respectively. The validation study showed that it had superior capacity to induce multiple stages of keratinocyte differentiation and significantly elevated the immunostaining site of keratin 10 and filaggrin in a 3-dimensional cultured human skin model, by 1.2 and 2.8-fold, respectively. Furthermore, ginnalin B caused the arrest of proliferation at the G0/G1 phase but it did not induce apoptotic cell death in normal human keratinocytes. Molecular studies revealed that ginnalin B up-regulated the levels of NOTCH1 and a concomitant increase p21 expression. Ginnalin B, therefore, represents a new class of promising functional and medical cosmetic compound and it could contribute to the maintenance of homeostasis of the epidermis.