Effects on keratinocytes of the traditional combination of herb extract (Royal Oji Complex) implicated the improvement of young children's skin moisture and barrier

Abstract

Background: Natural products are often friendly and can be used on children's skin after systematic and careful research. Therefore, in this study, the Royal Oji Complex (ROC), a product with natural ingredients, was used to study their effectiveness on keratinocytes taken from the skin of children from 0 to 3 years old.

Method: Normal human epidermal keratinocytes and tissue-isolated keratinocytes (TIKC) from young donors were treated with three different concentrations of ROC: 0.1, 1, and 10 ppm. The mRNA expression of the epidermal barrier's essential genes, such as hyaluronic acid synthase 3 (Has3), involucrin (IVL), loricrin (LOR), and claudin-1 (CLD1) was investigated using qRT-PCR. Ceramide content was measured by ELISA, with retinoic acid (R.A.) and amarogentin (AMA) serving as positive controls.

Results: ROC significantly elevated HAS3 gene expression in HEKn cells, especially at 10 ppm, indicating potential advantages for skin hydration in young infants. IVL increased at first but decreased as ROC concentrations increased. LOR was upregulated at lower ROC concentrations but reduced at higher doses. CLD1 gene expression increased considerably in HEKn but reduced with increasing ROC doses. Ceramide concentration increased somewhat but not significantly at 10 ppm.

Conclusion: ROC shows potential in altering keratinocyte gene expression, with unique responses in HEKn and TIKC from young donors. While changes in ceramide content were insignificant, these results help to comprehend ROC's multiple effects on young children's skin.

Keywords: Royal Oji Complex; claudin‐1 (CLD1); herb extract; hyaluronic acid synthase 3 (Has3); involucrin (IVL); loricrin (LOR); tissue‐isolated keratinocytes (TIKC).

FIGURE 1

The scheme of an ex‐vivo experiment to assess the efficiency of the Royal Oji compound in inducing biomarkers of hydration and structure in keratinocytes.

FIGURE 2

The effect of Royal Oji Complex (ROC) on the expression of the HAS3 gene (A and C) and FLG gene (B and D) in HEKn and tissue‐isolated keratinocytes (TIKC), respectively. The results were obtained using the qRT‐PCR method for evaluating the mRNA expression from HEKn (n = 3) or TIKC (n = 9) after treatment with indicated concentration of ROC. ^* p < 0.05, ^** p < 0.01, ^*** p < 0.001 compared with untreated control.

FIGURE 3

The effect of Royal Oji Complex (ROC) on the expression of the Ivl gene (A and D), Lor gene (B and E), and Cld1 gene (C and F) in HEKn and tissue‐isolated keratinocytes (TIKC), respectively. The results were obtained using the qRT‐PCR method for evaluating the mRNA expression from HEKn (n = 3) or TIKC (n = 9) after treatment with indicated concentration of ROC. ^* p < 0.05, ^** p < 0.01, ^*** p < 0.001 compared with untreated control.

FIGURE 4

The effect of ROC on the secretion of ceramide from HEKn (n = 3) (A) or tissue isolated keratinocytes (TIKC) (n = 9) (B) after treatment with indicated concentration of ROC. ^* p < 0.05, ^** p < 0.01, ^*** p < 0.001 compared with untreated control.