Trends in the Use of Botanicals in Anti-Aging Cosmetics.

Botanical ingredients have been used for thousands of years in skincare for their convenience as well as the diversity and abundance in compounds with biological activity. Among these, polyphenols and especially flavonoids have gained increasing prominence due to their antioxidant and anti-inflammatory properties. In this study, the most used botanical preparations in anti-aging products marketed in 2011 were determined. The analysis was repeated in 2018 for new and reformulated products. The scientific evidence for their application as active ingredients in anti-aging cosmetics and their flavonoid content was also compiled by searching in online scientific databases. Overall, in 2018, there was a noticeable increase in the use of botanical preparations in anti-aging cosmetics. However, the top three botanical species in both years were Vitis vinifera, Butyrospermum parkii, and Glycine soja, which is consistent with the greater amount of scientific evidence supporting their efficacy. Regarding the function of botanical preparations, there is a clear preference for DNA-protecting ingredients. The most prevalent flavonoids were flavan-3-ols, proanthocyanidins, and anthocyanins. This study provided an updated overview of the market trends regarding the use of botanicals in anti-aging products and documented the state of the art of scientific evidence for the most used plants.

Efficacy, Stability, and Safety Evaluation of New Polyphenolic Xanthones Towards Identification of Bioactive Compounds to Fight Skin Photoaging.

Antioxidants have long been used in the cosmetic industry to prevent skin photoaging, which is mediated by oxidative stress, making the search for new antioxidant compounds highly desirable in this field. Naturally occurring xanthones are polyphenolic compounds that can be found in microorganisms, fungi, lichens, and some higher plants. This class of polyphenols has a privileged scaffold that grants them several biological activities. We have previously identified simple oxygenated xanthones as promising antioxidants and disclosed as hit, 1,2-dihydroxyxanthone (1). Herein, we synthesized and studied the potential of xanthones with different polyoxygenated patterns as skin antiphotoaging ingredients. In the DPPH antioxidant assay, two newly synthesized derivatives showed IC50 values in the same range as ascorbic acid. The synthesized xanthones were discovered to be excellent tyrosinase inhibitors and weak to moderate collagenase and elastase inhibitors but no activity was revealed against hyaluronidase. Their metal-chelating effect (FeCl3 and CuCl2) as well as their stability at different pH values were characterized to understand their potential to be used as future cosmetic active agents. Among the synthesized polyoxygenated xanthones, 1,2-dihydroxyxanthone (1) was reinforced as the most promising, exhibiting a dual ability to protect the skin against UV damage by combining antioxidant/metal-chelating properties with UV-filter capacity and revealed to be more stable in the pH range that is close to the pH of the skin. Lastly, the phototoxicity of 1,2-dihydroxyxanthone (1) was evaluated in a human keratinocyte cell line and no phototoxicity was observed in the concentration range tested.

Design, characterization, and clinical evaluation of argan oil nanostructured lipid carriers to improve skin hydration.

Given its advantages in skin application (eg, hydration, antiaging, and protection), argan oil could be used in both dermatological and cosmetic formulations. Therefore, the preparation of nanostructured lipid carriers (NLCs) using argan oil as a liquid lipid is a promising technique, since the former constitute well-established systems for dermal delivery. The aim of this work was to develop a topical formulation of argan oil NLCs to improve skin hydration. Firstly an NLC dispersion was developed and characterized, and afterward an NLC-based hydrogel was prepared. The in vivo evaluation of the suitability of the prepared formulation for the proposed application was assessed in volunteers, by measuring different skin-surface parameters for 1 month. An argan oil NLC-based hydrogel formulation was successfully prepared and characterized. Moreover, the entrapment of the NLCs in the hydrogel net did not affect their colloidal sizes. Additionally, it was observed that this formulation precipitated an increase in skin hydration of healthy volunteers. Therefore, we concluded that the preparation of NLC systems using argan oil as the liquid lipid is a promising strategy, since a synergistic effect on the skin hydration was obtained (ie, NLC occlusion plus argan oil hydration).