Safety Assessment of Ethers and Esters of Ascorbic Acid as Used in Cosmetics

The Expert Panel for Cosmetic Ingredient Safety (Panel) reviewed the safety of 7 ethers and esters of ascorbic acid, which collectively function as antioxidants, skin-conditioning agents, skin protectants, fragrance ingredients, and skin bleaching agents in cosmetic products. The Panel reviewed relevant data relating to the safety of these ingredients, and concluded that the ethers and esters of ascorbic acid are safe in the present practices of use and concentration, as described in this safety assessment.

Impact of Exogenously Sprayed Antioxidants on Physio-Biochemical, Agronomic, and Quality Parameters of Potato in Salt-Affected Soil

Salinity is one of the harsh environmental stresses that destructively impact potato growth and production, particularly in arid regions. Exogenously applied safe-efficient materials is a vital approach for ameliorating plant growth, productivity, and quality under salinity stress. This study aimed at investigating the impact of foliar spray using folic acid (FA), ascorbic acid (AA), and salicylic acid (SA) at different concentrations (100, 150, or 200 mg/L) on plant growth, physiochemical ingredients, antioxidant defense system, tuber yield, and quality of potato (Solanum tuberosum L cv. Spunta) grown in salt-affected soil (EC = 7.14 dS/m) during two growing seasons. The exogenously applied antioxidant materials (FA, AA, and SA) significantly enhanced growth attributes (plant height, shoot fresh and dry weight, and leaves area), photosynthetic pigments (chlorophyll a and b and carotenoids), gas exchange (net photosynthetic rate, Pn; transpiration rate, Tr; and stomatal conductance, gs), nutrient content (N, P, and K), K+/ Na+ ratio, nonenzymatic antioxidant compounds (proline and soluble sugar content), enzymatic antioxidants (catalase (CAT), peroxidase (POX), superoxide dismutase (SOD), and ascorbate peroxidase (APX)) tuber yield traits, and tuber quality (dry matter, protein, starch percentage, total carbohydrates, and sugars percentage) compared with untreated plants in both seasons. Otherwise, exogenous application significantly decreased Na+ and Cl- compared to the untreated control under salt stress conditions. Among the assessed treatments, the applied foliar of AA at a rate of 200 mg/L was more effective in promoting salt tolerance, which can be employed in reducing the losses caused by salinity stress in potato grown in salt-affected soils.

Multilayered fibroblasts constructed by accelerated cellular self-assembly and applications for regenerative medicine

Regenerative medicine research requires animal experiments to evaluate the treatment effects. According to the 3Rs principles, alternative models have been developed and utilized to evaluate the efficacy and safety of new products. Three-dimensional (3D) cell cultures have been recognized for their relevant structures and biological functions akin to native tissues. They can better represent in vivo conditions than two-dimensional (2D) cell cultures. Herein, we present a fast and simple technique for the construction of 3D dermal fibroblasts (3D-DFs) without exogenous scaffolds. The 3D-DFs can be obtained within 3 days by seeding DFs at a level that exceeds their confluent density and culturing in the presence of ascorbic acid. The 3D-DFs had a compact multilayer structure, as revealed from their histology. The collagen content of the resulting 3D-DFs drastically increased compared to in a monolayer. The 3D-DF-derived extracellular matrix can serve for the 3D culturing of other cells. A gap closure assay was performed with the 3D-DFs to represent a 3D-wounded dermal model. Interestingly, the multilayered structure of the 3D-DFs could be regenerated after wounding even when cultured in the absence of ascorbic acid. Moreover, skin grafting of the 3D-DFs was demonstrated in vitro using wounded full-thickness skin models as an alternative to animal experiments. The 3D-DFs will potentially be useful for regenerative medicine or as tissue models for in vitro studies.

Increased temperature produces changes in the bioactive composition of tomato, depending on its developmental stage

The present study examines the effect of an increased day temperature on vitamin C and carotenoid concentrations in tomato, depending on the developmental stage of fruits when the stress is imposed. Plants were cultivated in a growth chamber initially at 24 °C, and the day temperature was increased to 32 °C when fruits belonging to six different fruit development stages could be differentiated. Vitamin C, phytoene, phytofluene, lycopene, γ-carotene, and violaxantin concentrations were significantly lower when a temperature of 32 °C was imposed during the advanced stages of fruit development compared to the levels observed in the control treatment. However, no effect or increased concentrations were observed when the temperature was increased in earlier stages, indicating the adaptation of the plant metabolism to high temperature. Finally, no effect on β-carotene concentration was observed, regardless of the fruit developmental stage when the temperature increase was applied.

Effects of ovariectomy and ascorbic acid supplement on oxidative stress parameters and bone mineral density in rats

OBJECTIVES

The aim of this study is to investigate the effects of ovariectomy on bone mineral density (BMD) and oxidative state in rats, and the alterations in these effects that vitamin C supplementation may produce.

MATERIALS AND METHODS

TWENTY FEMALE WISTAR ALBINO RATS WERE RANDOMLY DIVIDED INTO THREE GROUPS: control (C, n=6); ovariectomy (O, n=7); and ovariectomy+vitamin C supplement (OV, n=7). Oxidative stress (OS) was assessed 100 days postovariectomy by measuring the activity of several enzymes, including catalase (CAT), superoxide dismutase (SOD), and glutathione peroxidase, as well as the concentrations of malondialdehyde (MDA), nitric oxide (NO), and total sulfhydryl groups in plasma and bone homogenates.

RESULTS

A significant decrease in BMD was observed in O group compared with C group (p=0.015), and a significant increase was observed in OV compared with O group (p=0.003). When groups were compared with respect to parameters of OS, MDA and NO levels in bone tissue were significantly higher in O than in C (p=0.032, p=0.022) and were significantly lower in OV than in O (p=0.025, p=0.018). SOD activity was significantly higher in O than in C (p=0.032). In plasma, MDA activity was significantly higher in O than in C (p=0.022) and NO level was significantly higher in O than in C and OV (p=0.017, p=0.018).

CONCLUSIONS

Our results suggest that ovariectomy may produce osteoporosis and OS in females, and vitamin C supplementation may provide alterations regarding improvement in OS and BMD values. We assume that studies including more subjects are needed to make a decisive conclusion about OS-BMD relation.