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Exposure to UV radiation to human skin up-regulates the synthesis of matrix metalloproteinase (MMP) family. Gelatinases are member of MMPs which have been suggested to play an important role in photoaging such as wrinkle formation. To inhibit gelatinase activity is regarded to be very important to keep healthy skin and to protect wrinkle formation. On the other hand, anti-photoaging agents are expected to be derived from natural resources, especially plants. Plant extracts having gelatinase-inhibitory effect that might be used as safe anti-photoaging ingredient were widely screened. An extract of rhizomes of Curcuma longa L. showed inhibitory effect of gelatinase activity. Curcuminoids and slight amount of compound, 6,11-dihydroxy-3-(4-hydroxy-3-mthoxyphenethyl)-7-[(E)-4-(4-hydroxy-3-methoxyphenyl)-2-oxo-3-butenyl]-10-methoxy-2-oxabicyclo[6.3.1.]dodeca-1(11),8(12),9-trien-5-yl (E)-3-(4-hydroxy-3-methoxyphenyl)-2-propenoate (curcuminoid D) were isolated as the gelatinase-inhibitory components from methanol extract of rhizomes. The structure of curcuminoid D was determined by means of spectral data including 1 H- and 13 C-NMR, and IR. Curcumin exerted the enhancing effect on deposition of basement membrane component at dermal-epidermal junction in skin equivalent model. Topical application of cream containing turmeric extract significantly improved facial skin elasticity and decreased the number of gelatinase-positive stratum corneum clusters in human facial skins. These results indicated that turmeric is an effective ingredient to improve skin condition and to prevent skin from photoaging by suppressing activation of gelatinase chronically caused by UV., (Copyright © 2017 The Society for Biotechnology, Japan. Published by Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.)

Winged bean (WB), Psophocarpus tetragonolobus, is a tropical legume, the potential of which is not fully understood. We found that 5-week oral administration of a WB seed extract inhibited wrinkle formation induced by repeated tape stripping (TS) as a model of lichenification in human chronic eczematous dermatitis. To elucidate the mechanism of the effect of WB on this model, we applied microarray analysis. Hierarchical clustering revealed that each experimental group formed a distinct cluster, suggesting the presence of a distinct gene expression profile among the three groups of non-TS, TS, and TS with oral administration of WB extract (TS/WB). Gene ontology analysis showed that several gene groups with keratinization and mitosis were significantly upregulated by TS, while other groups with ATP synthesis and glycolysis were significantly downregulated by TS/WB. Moreover, WB extract influenced a number of genes related to epidermal differentiation and inflammation. This suggests that these changes inhibited wrinkle formation by TS., (Copyright © 2011 International Union of Biochemistry and Molecular Biology, Inc.)