ANTIAGING POTENTIAL OF FUCOXANTHIN 61 maintaining homeostasis in the epidermal layer. It plays an important role in the barrier function of the skin after its incorporation into the lipid envelope (47). In addition, it promotes the release of free amino acids, which are natural moisturizing factors (47). It has also been reported that fi laggrin plays a major role in the barrier protection effect of the skin (46). The low level of fi laggrin caused by genetic mutation has been linked to severe eczema and dry skin in adults (48). Furthermore, Matsui et al. (49) showed that fucoxanthin re- stores downregulated fi laggrin expression and alleviates UV-induced sunburn. In addition, they showed that fucoxanthin stimulates fi laggrin promoter activity in a concentration- dependent manner (47). Our data and those obtained by Matui et al. suggest that fucoxan- thin maintains the moisture content of the skin and protects against transdermal water loss by promoting skin barrier function via inducing fi laggrin expression. SKIN ELASTICITY The skin tends to resume its original shape after an applied stretching force is released. Skin elasticity is one of the biggest factors that determine apparent age. When collagen and elastin levels in the skin reduce, the skin eventually becomes saggy and wrinkles ap- pear. These make the skin look older than it actually is. In the in vitro experiment, PT- FX50 increased procollagen amount and reduced MMP expression. As shown in Table II, net skin resilience (R5) signifi cantly increased after 4 and 8 weeks of treatment with the test product. The Cutometer® was used to determine several parameters such as immedi- ate recovery (UR), immediate extensibility (UE), and viscoelastic deformation. The ex- periment involved using a noncontact optical measuring system. The skin was drawn into the aperture of the probe and released again. R5 was calculated as UR/UE. The results showed that the test cream improved skin elasticity and had a beauty-enhancing effect. EVALUATION OF WRINKLES The effect of the cream on wrinkles was assessed by performing a replica image analysis. No statistically signifi cant changes in wrinkles were observed at the site where the control Table II Skin Elasticity Measurements Parameters Day 0 Day 28 Day 56 R2a 0.5225 ± 0.0600 0.6037 ± 0.0446 0.5880 ± 0.0791 p valueb — 0.177 1.000 Change rate (%) — 3.65 0.95 R5c 0.5203 ± 0.0257 0.5426 ± 0.0352 0.5708 ± 0.0450 p value — 0.001 0.001 Change rate (%) — 4.29 9.71 R7d 0.3235 ± 0.0302 0.3299 ± 0.0235 0.3372 ± 0.0488 p value — 0.464 0.333 Change rate (%) — 1.96 4.21 a R2: gross elasticity. b p value: signifi cant probability, linear mixed model, p 0.05 when test and placebo products are compared. c R5: net elasticity. d R7: skin recovery. Change rate (%) = [(Dx – D0)/D0] × 100, calculated as a mean value (D0, Day 0 Dx, Day 28 or 56).

JOURNAL OF COSMETIC SCIENCE 62 product was used until 8 weeks after the treatment (Table III). Conversely, the test cream produced a statistically signifi cant decrease in eye wrinkles after 4 weeks of use. In addi- tion, the results show that there were signifi cant differences between the test and placebo creams in Rz and Rt parameters after 8 weeks of treatment. Our fi ndings indicate that the test cream smoothed the skin surface and reduced wrinkles. CONCLUSIONS This study was carried out to evaluate the antiaging effect of PT-FX50. The results show that PT-FX50 is not cytotoxic at concentrations of d20 ppm. We have also shown that PT-FX50 decreases the expression levels of MMP-1, MMP-2, and MMP-9 in HDFN cells. Furthermore, the fucoxanthin-containing cream we prepared showed considerable effi cacy as it signifi cantly increased skin moisture and elasticity after 4 weeks of treat- ment. These results demonstrate that the test product has excellent antiwrinkle and moisturizing effects. Furthermore, our fi ndings suggest that fucoxanthin can be used as a functional cosmetic agent. A CKNOWLEDGMENT T his research was a part of the project titled “Development and industrialization of high value cosmetic raw materials from marine microalgae,” funded by the Ministry of Oceans and Fisheries, Korea. R EFERENCES ( 1) M. A. Farage, K. W. Miller, P. Elsner, and H. I. Maibach, Intrinsic and extrinsic factors in skin ageing: a review, Int. J. Cosmet. Sci., 30, 87–95 (2008). ( 2) H. K. Biesalski, M. Berneburg, T. Grune, M. Kerscher, J. Krutmann, W. Raab, J. Reimann, T. Reuther, L. Robert, and T. Schwarz, Hohenheimer Consensus Talk. Oxidative and premature skin ageing, Exp. Dermatol., 12(Suppl. 3), 3–15 (2003). Table III Evaluation of Skin Wrinkles Parameters Day 0 Day 28 Day 56 Rab Test 5.295 ± 0.920 5.062 ± 0.980 5.016 ± 0.960 Placebo 5.258 ± 1.053 5.209 ± 1.005 5.105 ± 0.834 p valuea — 0.140 0.413 Rzc Test 32.871 ± 6.221 30.507 ± 4.655 28.633 ± 4.701 Placebo 31.499 ± 5.479 30.690 ± 5.883 30.056 ± 4.093 p value — 0.149 0.034 Rtd Test 46.110 ± 8.781 41.578 ± 6.516 38.630 ± 5.569 Placebo 44.183 ± 7.821 42.935 ± 9.084 41.356 ± 4.807 p value — 0.123 0.037 a p value: signifi cant probability, linear mixed model, p 0.05 when test and placebo products are compared. b Ra: arithmetic average roughness. c Rz: arithmetic average of the difference segment roughness calculated from fi ve succeeding measurements. d Rt: the distance between the highest mountain and the lowest value.