Stimulatory Effect of Dietary Red Ginseng on Epidermal Hydration and Ceramide Levels in Ultraviolet-Irradiated Hairless Mice

Abstract

Ultraviolet (UV) irradiation induces skin dryness, largely by disruption of the epidermal barrier. In a search for dietary and plant compounds that would protect against skin dryness, we investigated the dietary effect of red ginseng (the steamed root of Panax ginseng C.A. Meyer) on epidermal levels of hydration and ceramides, the most important lipids for maintaining the epidermal barrier, in UV-irradiated mice. Albino hairless mice were fed either control diets (group UV [UV-irradiated control]) or diets with 0.5% (group H0.5) or 1% (group H1.0) red ginseng extract for 5 weeks in parallel with UV irradiation. A normal control group (group C) was fed a control diet without UV irradiation for 5 weeks. Skin dryness in group UV, as assessed by epidermal levels of hydration and ceramides, was significantly lower than those in group C. With no differences in food intake and weight gains among groups, epidermal levels of hydration and ceramides in group H0.5 were similar to those in group C. In addition, protein expression of serine palmitoyltransferase (SPT), a key enzyme involved in de novo ceramide synthesis, was increased in group H0.5. However, epidermal levels of hydration and ceramides in group H1.0 did not differ from those in group UV, in which ceramidase, an enzyme involved in ceramide degradation, was highly expressed. In conclusion, we demonstrate that dietary supplementation of 0.5% red ginseng protects skin from UV-induced dryness with an accumulation of ceramides due to elevated expression of SPT protein.

Effect of Oral Administration of Lactobacillus plantarum HY7714 on Epidermal Hydration in Ultraviolet B-Irradiated Hairless Mice

“…In chronic UV-irradiated skin of hairless rat, decreased ceramide levels were observed and attributed to abnormal sphingomyelinase [25]. It is also reported that high ceramidase expression causes a decrease in ceramide levels in the epidermis [17]. These findings were consistent with our results.…”

“…The mRNA expression level does not represent the production amount of specific proteins from mRNA. However, reported studies showed that the mRNA expression level of SPT and ceramidase correlated consistently with their protein level [19,27]. Thus, we investigated SPT and ceramidase mRNA expression in hairless mice.…”

Effect of Dietary Supplementation of Red Ginseng By-product on Laying Performance, Blood Biochemistry, Serum Immunoglobulin and Microbial Population in Laying Hens

“…Various beneficial pharmacological effects of ginseng or its components have been reported, including anti-cancer, anti-allergy, anti-inflammatory, anti-fatigue, anti-stress, and immunomodulatory activities (Kim et al, 2002; Park et al, 2004; Sumiyoshi et al, 2010; Lee and Cho, 2011). Red ginseng is produced by steaming fresh ginseng at 95°C to 100°C for a reasonable time (Kim et al, 2009). It is known to have greater pharmaceutical efficacy and functionality than white ginseng, due to its high saponin content (Kim and In, 2010).…”

A single-center, randomized, double-blind, placebo-controlled study on the efficacy and safety of “enzyme-treated red ginseng powder complex (BG11001)” for antiwrinkle and proelasticity in individuals with healthy skin

“…These results are important because filaggrin in stratum corneum are incorporated into lipid envelopes and release free amino acids to assist in water retention [26], [24], [25]. Another previous study reported that dietary supplementation of red ginseng protected skin from UV-induced dryness with an accumulation of ceramides via elevated expression of serine palmitoyltransferase, a key enzyme involved in de novo ceramide synthesis [27]. With all these previous results, we could suggest that BG11001 improved human eye wrinkle roughness by the regulation of collagen type I expression, and BG11001 was also able to increase skin elasticity and maintain moisture content by inhibition of filaggrin expression and elevation of serine palmitoyltransferase expression.…”