ANTIAGING POTENTIAL OF FUCOXANTHIN 59 the present study, based on the results of the aforementioned animal studies, PT-FX50 was not considered as an unsuitable ingredient for use in cosmetics. PROCOLLAGEN ASSAY Collagen is the main component of connective tissue. It plays a key role in maintaining the tensile strength of human skin. Collagen is produced as precursor forms called procol- lagens. Among them, type 1 procollagen accounts for 80% of dermal collagen (37). To assess the effect of fucoxanthin on collagenogenesis, the levels of type I procollagen in HDFN cells treated with PT-FX50 (3.1–25 μg/ml) were analyzed (Figure 3). It was ob- served that TGF-β (10 ng/ml) used as a positive control increased procollagen content in the cells by 29.0%. Furthermore, the amount of procollagen in the cells signifi cantly increased after the treatment with 12.5 and 25 μg/ml of fucoxanthin. MMP ASSAY UV rays increase wrinkle fo rmation by inducing the expression of MMPs, such as MMP-1 (collagenase), which cleaves type I collagen MMP-2 (gelatinase A), which degrades type IV and VII collagen and MMP-9 (gelatinase B), which degrades type IV and V collagen and other extracellular matrix proteins (38,39). Thus, MMPs are major markers of wrinkle formation. The MMP-1 level in the positive control cells treated with 10 μM RA was 47.2% less than that in the control cells, which means that MMP-1 levels decreased at a statistically signifi cant level (Figure 3). Furthermore, 25 μg/ml of fucoxanthin signifi cantly decreased MMP-1 and MMP-2 levels by 12.7% and 22.3%, respectively. Fucoxanthin decreased the MMP-9 level in the HDFN cells at all the concentrations tested. Figure 3. In vitro effi cacy of PT-FX50: (A) Procollagen, (B) MMP-1, (C) MMP-2, and (D) MMP-9 levels.

JOURNAL OF COSMETIC SCIENCE 60 MMPs degrade the extracellular matrix a nd allow cancer cells to metastasize (40,41). Chung et al. (42) have studied the inhibitory effect of fucoxanthin on MMP-2 and MMP-9 expression in B16-F10 cells (metastatic murine melanoma). The results showed that the MMPs were expressed at the metastasis stage. In addition, they degraded type IV colla- gen however, fucoxanthin decreased MMP-9 expression. Liu et al. have investigated the effects of fucoxanthin on the migration and invasiveness of glioblastoma cells (31). The results showed that the expression levels of MMP-2 and MMP-9 were inhibited by fuco- xanthin at concentrations of 25 and 50 μM. This demonstrates that fucoxanthin can suf- fi ciently inhibit tumor growth, angiogenesis, metastasis, and invasion by reducing the expression levels of MMPs. SAFETY ASSESSMENT OF CREAM The subjects were selected on day 1 of t he study. All the participants completed the test therefore, 21 valid data sets were obtained and analyzed. The control and test products were applied to each side of the face twice daily for eight consecutive weeks. The cream did not cause any adverse effects on the skin during the study period. SKIN MOISTURE Proper hydration is essent ial to maintai n a healthy and attractive skin (43,44). Therefore, hydration is the basic function of cosmetics. Most manufacturers of cosmetic products consider moisturizing formulations as a major category of skin care products (45). As shown in Figure 4, a statistically signifi cant increase (p 0.05) in skin moisture was ob- served 4 weeks after using the test product. At week 8, skin moisture had increased by 16.7%. Water retention in the stratum corneum depends on intracellular moisturizing factors in corneocytes and intercellular lipids in the stratum corneum, which act as barriers to prevent transdermal water loss (46). Filaggrin is a moisturizing factor essential for Figure 4. Moisture content of the skin. Skin moisture was evaluated by measuring capacitance and express- ing it in arbitrary units. Statistical signifi cance (p 0.05) was calculated in comparison with the initial value.