Effects of oligomeric proanthocyanidins (OPCs) of red wine to improve skin whitening and moisturizing in healthy women - a placebo-controlled randomized double-blind parallel group comparative study.

OBJECTIVE: This study was undertaken to evaluate the effects of red wine from grapes oligomeric procyanidins (OPCs) intake on skin color and skin moisture in Japanese healthy women. The purpose of this study was to improve skin condition, with the primary endpoint set to improve sunburn by ultraviolet (UV) and the secondary endpoint set to improve dryness. PATIENTS AND METHODS: A randomized, placebo-controlled, double-blind, parallel-group study was conducted on 100 subjects (30 to 59 years of age). They were administered a test beverage, including 200 mg of the red wine OPCs (the test beverage group) or a placebo beverage (the control beverage group) once a day for 12 weeks. The properties of facial skin were measured at 0 (start value), 4th, 8th, and 12th week of the test period. RESULTS: After 12 weeks of administration, the pigmentation scores and melanin index values of the OPC group were significantly reduced from the start value and were lower than the control group (p<0.05). In addition, the OPC group showed a significant increase in water content of the stratum corneum compared to the start value, while that of the control group significantly decreased. CONCLUSIONS: The red wine OPCs showed the effects of skin whitening and moisturizing, and it is suggested that OPCs may improve the skin condition of healthy women.

Purification and characterization of gallic acid decarboxylase from pantoea agglomerans T71

Oxygen-sensitive gallic acid decarboxylase from Pantoea (formerly Enterobacter) agglomerans T71 was purified from a cell extract after stabilization by reducing agents. This enzyme has a molecular mass of approximately 320 kDa and consists of six identical subunits. It is highly specific for gallic acid. Gallic acid decarboxylase is unique among similar decarboxylases in that it requires iron as a cofactor, as shown by plasma emission spectroscopy (which revealed an iron content of 0.8 mol per mol of enzyme subunit), spectrophotometric analysis (absorption shoulders at 398 and 472 nm), and inhibition of the enzyme activity by 2,2'-bipyridyl, o-phenanthroline, and EDTA. Another interesting feature of this strain is the fact that it contains a tannase, which is used together with the gallic acid decarboxylase in a two-enzyme resting cell bioconversion to synthesize valuable pyrogallol from readily available tannic acid.