Comparative physicochemical stability and clinical anti-wrinkle efficacy of transdermal emulgel preparations of 5% sodium ascorbyl phosphate and or ascorbic acid on human volunteers

Thermosensitive hydrogel coupled with sodium ascorbyl phosphate promotes human umbilical cord-derived mesenchymal stem cell-mediated skin wound healing in mice

Poor survival and restricted function of transplanted stem cells are regarded as limiting their efficacy in wound recovery greatly. Consequently, it is necessary to identify innovative therapeutic strategies to solve these issues. Firstly, the biological effect of PF-127 hydrogel alone and in combination with SAP on the survival, and migration of cultured HUCMSCs was assessed by cell viability, apoptosis, and scratch wound assays. S. aureus and E. coli were used to evaluate the antibacterial activity of PF-127 plus SAP combination. Further, the ability of HUCMSCs-conditioned medium (HUCMSCs-CM) to promote the angiogenesis and migration of human umbilical vein endothelial cells (HUVECs) in vitro was evaluated using tube formation and transwell migration assays. Finally, the HUCMSCs embedded in PF-127 plus SAP scaffold were administered onto mice's excisional cutaneous wound bed. Histological and immunohistochemical analyses were employed to investigate the wound healing capacity as well as cellular responses of PF-127/HUCMSCs/SAP hydrogel. PF-127 showed cytotoxicity on HUCMSCs, whereas the addition of SAP significantly promoted cell viability and alleviated apoptosis of HUCMSCs encapsulated in PF-127 hydrogel in vitro. SAP supplementation substantially abrogated the inhibiting effect of PF-127 on the migration of HUCMSCs in vitro. The combination of PF-127 and SAP exerted an obvious bacteriostatic function on S. aureus and E. coli. Moreover, the co-treatment with SAP could remarkably enhance the stimulative effect of HUCMSCs-CM on the angiogenesis and migration of HUVECs in vitro. PF-127 combined SAP-embedded HUCMSCs transplantation resulted in a potently accelerated wound healing process, promoted the number of proliferating cells and newly formed blood vessels, as well as enhanced expression of vascular endothelial growth factor. PF-127 coupled with SAP contributes to HUCMSCs-mediated traumatic wound closure in mice by promoting cell survival, antibacterial action, and angiogenesis. Our results offered a theoretical foundation for the clinical treatment of traumatic skin defects.

Meloxicam emulgel potently suppressed cartilage degradation in knee osteoarthritis: Optimization, formulation, industrial scalability and pharmacodynamic analysis

BACKGROUND AND OBJECTIVE

Meloxicam (MLX) is prescribed for the management of pain and inflammation allied with osteoarthritis (OA). However, MLX causes intestinal damage in long term administration. Hence, meloxicam loaded emulgel (MLX-emulgel) was optimized, formulated and examined under stringent parameters in monosodium-iodoacetate (MIA) induced knee OA in Wistar rats.

METHODS AND RESULTS

Nanoemulsion of MLX was fabricated by ultrasonication and microfluidization method with a droplet size of 66.81 ± 5.31-nm and zeta potential of -24.6 ± 0.72-mV. Further, MLX nanoemulsion was optimized with centrifugation, heating-cooling cycles and transmittance parameters in addition to scale-up feasibility with microfluidizer. Post optimization, MLX-nanoemulsion was tailored as emulgel with Carbopol Ultrez 10 NF and assessed for pH, rheology, textural properties, assay and stability features. The in-vitro release study revealed the Korsmeyer-Peppas release kinetics and ex-vivo skin permeation was improved by 6.71-folds. The skin distribution of MLX-emulgel evinced the transfollicular mode of permeation. In-vivo study indicated the protective action of MLX-emulegl expressed in terms of inflammatory cyctokines level, X-ray analysis of knee joints of rats, histopathology and OARSI (Osteoarthritis Research Society International) scoring. MLX-emulgel treated group displayed lower (P < 0.001) level of COX-2 intensity as compared to positive control group. However, it was comparable (P > 0.05) to the normal control group, MLX oral dispersion, i.v. solution and etoricoxib gel groups. MLX-emulgel showcased an alternative to the long term usage of analgesics for relieving the symptoms of knee OA.

CONCLUSION

MLX-emulgel may be a potential candidate for translating in to a clinically viable dosage form in the management of knee OA.

Design and Evaluation of Complex Polypeptide-Loaded Dissolving Microneedles for Improving Facial Wrinkles in Different Areas

Wrinkles are one of the most intuitive manifestations of skin aging. Complex polypeptide-loaded dissolving microneedles (CP-DMNs) for facial wrinkles in different areas have been developed and evaluated for the first time. In optimizing formulations, we compared the differences in CP-DMNs heights on skin insertion depth and skin repair and healing. Furthermore, systemic safety experiments were carried out to provide a reference for clinical application. On this basis, an 84-day efficacy assessment based on the improvement of facial wrinkles in different areas and a comparison between CP-DMNs vs. placebo was performed on 30 healthy subjects. As a result, DMNs with a height of 300 μm presented sufficient strength to pierce the stratum corneum with minimized skin damage. In addition, CP-DMNs possessed excellent biological safety and skin compatibility for clinical application. Compared with placebo, CP-DMNs exhibited obvious improvements in wrinkles distributed in the corners of eyes, under-eyes, and nasolabial folds. Furthermore, after using CP-DMNs for 84 days, facial wrinkles in five different areas were smoothed. In short, the complex polypeptides showed apparent anti-wrinkle efficacy with the aid of DMNs technology, and CP-DMNs seemed to work better on deeper wrinkles, such as frown lines and nasolabial folds.

Low-Molecular-Weight Synthetic Antioxidants: Classification, Pharmacological Profile, Effectiveness and Trends

Mounting research has been performed and published on natural antioxidants, more so than on synthetic ones, as key molecules that control oxidative damage and its pathway to disease. Since the discovery of vitamins, various fully synthetic or natural-identical compounds have been developed as stable small molecules translated into constantly active and completely controlled products which are widely exploited in the food and pharmaceutical industries. There is currently a debate within the literature about their mechanism of action, bioavailability, safety and real benefit for human health. Using a semiquantitative method and eligible criteria of selection, this review aimed to provide a very useful classification of antioxidants and a comprehensive cross-disciplinary description of 32 approved synthetic/natural-identical antioxidants, in terms of regulatory, antioxidant mechanism of action, safety issues, pharmacological properties, effectiveness in human health, timeline and future trends. Enriched interpretation of the data was obtained from summary bibliometrics, useful to portray the “good antioxidant” within the period 1966–2021 and, hopefully, to encourage further research.

Argan oil as a pretreatment of human hair before exposure to oxidative damage: Attenuated total reflectance and protein loss studies

INTRODUCTION

In recent years, argan oil has gained increasing interest in hair care products. In this study, attenuated total reflectance technique was utilized as a fast method and the results were compared to protein loss measurements in order to show the preventive effect of argan oil pre-treatment on excised human hair after oxidative hair damage.

METHODS

Hair tresses were divided into three groups: in group-1; they were damaged using oxidant agent solely, in group-2 and 3; hair were pre-treated with argan oil before undergoing the oxidative damage. In group-2, the oil was removed by physical cleaning but in group-3 the oil was removed with a washing procedure. ATR (attenuated total reflectance) spectrum was recorded for different samples. Quantitative studies of protein loss in hair samples were performed by Lowry method. The antioxidant properties of argan oil were also measured in vitro using 2, 2-diphenyl-1-picrylhydrazyl (DPPH) protocol, which determined the ability of the oil to scavenge the DPPH free radicals.

RESULTS

The amount of protein loss with oil pre-treated groups was reduced significantly. The ATR spectrum showed oil deposition on hair even after washing. Four distinctive ATR peaks were changed during oxidation. The changes in peak height values were linear. The antioxidant property measured with DPPH method led to a IC50 value of 59 µg/ml.

CONCLUSION

Argan oil pre-treatment was effective in protecting hair against oxidative damage. ATR outcomes were in accordance with protein loss results. In this study, the ATR testing method as a fast technique was used efficiently in quantification of hair damage.

Tetrahexyldecyl Ascorbate (THDC) Degrades Rapidly under Oxidative Stress but Can Be Stabilized by Acetyl Zingerone to Enhance Collagen Production and Antioxidant Effects

Tetrahexyldecyl Ascorbate (THDC) is an L-ascorbic acid precursor with improved stability and ability to penetrate the epidermis. The stability and transdermal penetration of THDC, however, may be compromised by the oxidant-rich environment of human skin. In this study, we show that THDC is a poor antioxidant that degrades rapidly when exposed to singlet oxygen. This degradation, however, was prevented by combination with acetyl zingerone (AZ) as a stabilizing antioxidant. As a standalone ingredient, THDC led to unexpected activation of type I interferon signaling, but this pro-inflammatory effect was blunted in the presence of AZ. Moreover, the combination of THDC and AZ increased expression of genes associated with phospholipid homeostasis and keratinocyte differentiation, along with repression of MMP1 and MMP7 expression, inhibition of MMP enzyme activity, and increased production of collagen proteins by dermal fibroblasts. Lastly, whereas THDC alone reduced viability of keratinocytes exposed to oxidative stress, this effect was completely abrogated by the addition of AZ to THDC. These results show that AZ is an effective antioxidant stabilizer of THDC and that combination of these products may improve ascorbic acid delivery. This provides a step towards reaching the full potential of ascorbate as an active ingredient in topical preparations.