Hsu Mei-Fang, Chiang Been-Huang
Institute of Food Science and Technology, National Taiwan University, P.O. Box 23-14, Taipei, Taiwan, ROC.
J Ethnopharmacol. 2009 Sep 25;125(3):474-81. doi: 10.1016/j.jep.2009.07.011. Epub 2009 Jul 18.
Radix astragali, a well-known Chinese herb, which has been traditionally used for skincare, and microbial fermentation is one of the conventional methods for processing Chinese herbs.
This research studied the effects of non-fermented (HQNB) and fermented preparations (HQB) of Radix astragali on hyaluronic acid (HA) production in primary human skin cells.
HQB and HQNB were prepared and added to the cultures of primary human skin cells. Hyaluronic acid content was determined using ELISA. Real-time RT-PCR was used to evaluate hyaluronan synthase gene expression. The bioactive compounds were analyzed by HPLC.
The growth-stimulating effect of HQNB on both of keratinocytes and fibroblasts were significantly higher than that of HQB. Conversely, HQB, but not HQNB significantly stimulated HA production in both cultured primary human epidermal keratinocytes and human dermal fibroblasts in dose-dependent manners. In addition, HQB markedly and dose-dependently increased the expression of hyaluronan synthase 3 and hyaluronan synthase 2 mRNA in HaCaT cells and human fibroblasts, respectively. Therefore, HQB might be a promising candidate for preventing the age-dependent loss of HA content in aged human skin, and its effect on the enhancement of HA synthesis in skin cells is highly related to its effect on the expression of hyaluronan synthase genes. The three major active isoflavonoids in Radix astragali were identified as ononin, calycosin, and formononetin. After fermentation, all of these three compounds in HQB were significantly reduced. However, HQB still had significantly higher enhancement effect on the production of HA than HQNB. It appeared that isoflavonoid aglycones or other metabolites, converted from their primary isoflavones during fermentation, might be responsible for the skincare functions found in this study.
This study demonstrated the low toxicity and the stimulating effects of HQB on HA synthesis, and suggests that HQB may play a promising role in anti-aging cosmetic applications.
黄芪是一种著名的中药材，传统上用于护肤，微生物发酵是加工中药材的传统方法之一。
本研究探讨了黄芪非发酵制剂（HQNB）和发酵制剂（HQB）对原代人皮肤细胞中透明质酸（HA）产生的影响。
制备HQB和HQNB并添加到原代人皮肤细胞培养物中。使用酶联免疫吸附测定法（ELISA）测定透明质酸含量。实时逆转录聚合酶链反应（Real-time RT-PCR）用于评估透明质酸合酶基因表达。通过高效液相色谱法（HPLC）分析生物活性化合物。
HQNB对角质形成细胞和成纤维细胞的生长刺激作用均显著高于HQB。相反，HQB而非HQNB以剂量依赖性方式显著刺激原代人表皮角质形成细胞和人真皮成纤维细胞中HA的产生。此外，HQB分别显著且剂量依赖性地增加了HaCaT细胞和人成纤维细胞中透明质酸合酶3和透明质酸合酶2 mRNA的表达。因此，HQB可能是预防老年人皮肤中与年龄相关的HA含量损失的有前途的候选物，其对皮肤细胞中HA合成增强的作用与其对透明质酸合酶基因表达的影响高度相关。黄芪中的三种主要活性异黄酮被鉴定为芒柄花苷、毛蕊异黄酮和刺芒柄花素。发酵后，HQB中的这三种化合物均显著减少。然而，HQB对HA产生的增强作用仍显著高于HQNB。似乎在发酵过程中从其主要异黄酮转化而来的异黄酮苷元或其他代谢产物可能是本研究中发现的护肤功能的原因。
本研究证明了HQB的低毒性及其对HA合成的刺激作用，并表明HQB在抗衰老化妆品应用中可能发挥有前途的作用。
