Biological properties of acidic cosmetic water from seawater

Abstract

This current work was to investigate the biological effects of acidic cosmetic water (ACW) on various biological assays. ACW was isolated from seawater and demonstrated several bio-functions at various concentration ranges. ACW showed a satisfactory effect against Staphylococcus aureus, which reduced 90% of bacterial growth after a 5-second exposure. We used cultured human peripheral blood mononuclear cells (PBMCs) to test the properties of ACW in inflammatory cytokine release, and it did not induce inflammatory cytokine release from un-stimulated, normal PBMCs. However, ACW was able to inhibit bacterial lipopolysaccharide (LPS)-induced inflammatory cytokine TNF-α released from PBMCs, showing an anti-inflammation potential. Furthermore, ACW did not stimulate the rat basophilic leukemia cell (RBL-2H3) related allergy response on de-granulation. Our data presented ACW with a strong anti-oxidative ability in a superoxide anion radical scavenging assay. In mass spectrometry information, magnesium and zinc ions demonstrated bio-functional detections for anti-inflammation as well as other metal ions such as potassium and calcium were observed. ACW also had minor tyrosinase and melanin decreasing activities in human epidermal melanocytes (HEMn-MP) without apparent cytotoxicity. In addition, the cell proliferation assay illustrated anti-growth and anti-migration effects of ACW on human skin melanoma cells (A375.S2) indicating that it exerted the anti-cancer potential against skin cancer. The results obtained from biological assays showed that ACW possessed multiple bioactivities, including anti-microorganism, anti-inflammation, allergy-free, antioxidant, anti-melanin and anticancer properties. To our knowledge, this was the first report presenting these bioactivities on ACW.

Keywords: acidic cosmetic water (ACW); allergy-free; anti-inflammation; anti-melanoma; anti-microorganism; antioxidant activity; skin-whitening.

Figure 1

The protocol of acidic cosmetic water (ACW) purified processes.

Figure 2

(A) Monocyte/macrophage cytokines released from PBMCs treated with ACW and measured by ELISA; (B) Th cell type-specific cytokines released from ACW treated PBMCs by ELISA; (C) Effects of ACW on monocyte/macrophage cytokines released from LPS-stimulated PBMCs; (D) Effects of ACW on Th cytokines released from LPS-stimulated PBMCs. * p < 0.05 tested vs. control; mean ± SD.

Figure 2

(A) Monocyte/macrophage cytokines released from PBMCs treated with ACW and measured by ELISA; (B) Th cell type-specific cytokines released from ACW treated PBMCs by ELISA; (C) Effects of ACW on monocyte/macrophage cytokines released from LPS-stimulated PBMCs; (D) Effects of ACW on Th cytokines released from LPS-stimulated PBMCs. * p < 0.05 tested vs. control; mean ± SD.

Figure 3

ACW inhibitory effects on β-hexosaminidase release from antigen-stimulated RBL-2H3 cells. Dexamethasone (Dexa) was used as a positive control. * p < 0.05 tested vs. control; mean ± SD.

Figure 4

ESI-MS spectrum of ACW in which various metal ions are observed.

Figure 5

(A) The cell viability of human normal skin melanocytes after treated with ACW, tested with MTT assay. (B) The tyrosinase activity of HEMn-MP after treated with ACW. (C) The tyrosinase activity of HEMn-MP after treated with ACW. * p < 0.05 tested vs. control; mean ± SD.

Figure 6

(A) Proliferation of A375.S2 cells is inhibited by ACW. Cells were incubated with indicated percentages of ACW for 24 h. The proliferation was determined by MTT assay. (B) ACW inhibits cell migration in A375.S2 cells. A total of 5 × 10⁵ cells were seeded onto a 12-well plate and the cells were scraped to create a clean 1-mm-wide wound area. Cells were treated with the indicated percentages of ACW for 16 h. The wound gaps were photographed and analyzed using the software TScratch. * p < 0.05 tested vs. control; mean ± SD.