Generally, skin properties are highly specific for each individual depending on various factors such as genetic predisposition, age, gender, body region, health and lifestyle. In this study, we measured various skin parameters on forehead, temple and cheek of 442 Caucasian women between 23 and 63 years, and evaluated differences between these facial regions and also the relationship between skin parameters and age of the volunteers. We measured transepidermal water loss (TEWL), stratum corneum hydration, skin gloss, melanin level, individual typology angle (ITA), erythema, sebum level and elasticity (R7). We observed significant negative relationship between age and TEWL, elasticity and skin lightness represented by ITA. Sebum, melanin and erythema levels increased up to the age of 50, when menopause usually takes place, and then decreased again. Evaluating the skin parameters on the forehead, temple and cheek area, we observed the biggest differences between the cheek and the forehead. The cheek possessed the worst skin parameters, such as the highest TEWL and erythema values and the lowest hydration.

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Analysis of epidermal genes, proteins and lipids is important in the research and diagnosis of skin diseases. Although punch biopsy is the first-choice technique for the skin sampling, it is unnecessarily invasive for obtaining a sample just for the epidermal analysis. Here we compare two less invasive methods, suction blistering (SB) and tape stripping (TS), for the analysis of selected epidermal genes (quantitative real-time reverse transcription PCR, qRT-PCR), proteins (western blotting, WB), and lipids in ten healthy volunteers. TS provided significantly less material than SB and no viable epidermal layers could be obtained according to the reflectance confocal microscopy. Consistently, only the SC protein filaggrin and housekeeping GAPDH together with FLG and RPL13A mRNA were detected by TS. In the SB samples, WB and qRT-PCR could easily detect all the selected proteins (claudin-1, occludin, filaggrin, laminin and GAPDH) and genes (CLDN1, OCLN, FLG, LAMA3 and RPL13A), respectively. A single SB sample further provided enough of material for immunohistochemistry and lipid analyses, which was not feasible with the TS samples. Immunohistochemistry of the SB samples showed intact epidermal structure and a characteristic expression of claudin-1. Infrared spectroscopy showed well-ordered lipids with both orthorhombic and hexagonal packing and high-performance thin layer chromatography confirmed all lipid classes (including ceramide subclasses) in correct proportions. Taken together, SB represents a reliable sampling technique that can be utilized for multipurpose epidermal analyses in various studies.

Background The human skin is greatly affected by external factors such as UV radiation (UVR), ambient temperature (T), and air humidity. These factors oscillate during the year giving rise to the seasonal variations in the skin properties. The aim of this study was to evaluate the effect of seasons, environmental T, relative and absolute humidity on the skin parameters of Caucasian women, perform a literature review and discuss the possible factors lying behind the found changes. Materials and Methods We measured stratum corneum (SC) hydration, transepidermal water loss (TEWL), sebum level, erythema index, and elasticity parameters R2 and R7 on the forehead and the cheek of Caucasian women from the Czech Republic throughout the year. We also performed a non‐systematic literature review focused on the seasonal variations in these skin parameters. Results We confirmed a well‐documented low SC hydration and sebum production in winter. In spring, we found the lowest TEWL (on the forehead) and the highest SC hydration but also the highest erythema index and the lowest elasticity presumably indicating skin photodamage. For most of the skin parameters, the seasonal variations probably arise due to a complex action of different factors as we extensively discussed. Conclusion The data about the seasonal variations in the skin parameters are still highly inconsistent and further studies are needed for better understanding of the normal skin changes throughout the year.

Global demand for natural pigments has increased in the past few years. Myxoxanthophyll, a glycosylated monocyclic carotenoid, is a pigment that occurs naturally in cyanobacteria but no scalable isolation process has been developed to obtain it from its natural source to date. In this study, myxoxanthophyll was isolated from unicellular cyanobacterium Synechocystis salina (S. salina) using high-performance countercurrent chromatography (HPCCC), where the lower phase of the biphasic solvent system composed of n-heptane–ethanol–water (2:4:4, v/v/v) was used as a mobile phase, whereas its upper phase was the stationary phase. For the HPCCC isolation, a multi-injection method was developed, and four consecutive sample injections (70 mg each) were performed, obtaining, in total, 20 mg of myxoxanthophyll, which was finally purified with high-performance liquid chromatography (HPLC). Overall, a final myxoxanthophyll yield of 15 mg (98% purity) was obtained. The target pigment showed a weak antioxidant and tyrosinase inhibitory effect, and exhibited immune-stimulating properties by activating human granulocytes. The results presented here form a basis for the large-scale production of myxoxanthophyll, and show the potential benefits of this pigment for human health.