The explosion in the use of natural substances and the need for new comprehensive risk assessments

Senescence Rejuvenation through Reduction in Mitochondrial Reactive Oxygen Species Generation by Polygonum cuspidatum Extract: In Vitro Evidence

Oxidative stress caused by reactive oxygen species (ROS) is one of the major causes of senescence. Strategies to reduce ROS are known to be important factors in reversing senescence, but effective strategies have not been found. In this study, we screened substances commonly used as cosmetic additives to find substances with antioxidant effects. Polygonum cuspidatum (P. cuspidatum) extract significantly reduced ROS levels in senescent cells. A novel mechanism was discovered in which P. cuspidatum extract reduced ROS, a byproduct of inefficient oxidative phosphorylation (OXPHOS), by increasing OXPHOS efficiency. The reduction in ROS by P. cuspidatum extract restored senescence-associated phenotypes and enhanced skin protection. Then, we identified polydatin as the active ingredient of P. cuspidatum extract that exhibited antioxidant effects. Polydatin, which contains stilbenoid polyphenols that act as singlet oxygen scavengers through redox reactions, increased OXPHOS efficiency and subsequently restored senescence-associated phenotypes. In summary, our data confirmed the effects of P. cuspidatum extract on senescence rejuvenation and skin protection through ROS reduction. This novel finding may be used as a treatment in senescence rejuvenation in clinical and cosmetic fields.

Development of a consensus approach for botanical safety evaluation - A roundtable report

Botanical safety science continues to evolve as new tools for risk assessment become available alongside continual desire by consumers for "natural" botanical ingredients in consumer products. Focusing on botanical food/dietary supplements a recent international roundtable meeting brought together scientists to discuss the needs, available tools, and ongoing data gaps in the botanical safety risk assessment process. Participants discussed the key elements of botanical safety evaluations. They provided perspective on the use of a decision tree methodology to conduct a robust risk assessment and concluded with alignment on a series of consensus statements. This discussion highlighted the strengths and vulnerabilities in common assumptions, and the participants shared additional perspective to ensure that this end-to-end safety approach is sufficient, actionable and timely. Critical areas and data gaps were identified as opportunities for future focus. These include, better context on history of use, systematic assessment of weight of evidence, use of in silico approaches, inclusion of threshold of toxicological concern considerations, individual substances/matrix interactions of plant constituents, assessing botanical-drug interactions and adaptations needed to apply to in vitro and in vivo pharmacokinetic modelling of botanical constituents.