TAGS: Skin Care Sun Care
Shiseido Company, Limited (Shiseido) in collaboration with Professor Akira Ikari of Gifu Pharmaceutical University has discovered that magnesium ions (Mg2+) act on epidermal cells to promote cellular hyaluronic acid production and induce spermidine production, protecting the cells from oxidative damage such as UV rays.
In previous research, it found that magnesium has the effect of restoring the skin barrier, and in this round of research, they have clarified its moisturizing and protective effects along with their mechanisms, indicating the possibility of an unprecedented skincare solution focused on magnesium.
Magnesium Ions Induce Cytoprotective Effects
They cultured epidermal cells in a medium supplemented with magnesium chloride (MgCl
2) and found that the expression of hyaluronan synthase elevated and the actual production of hyaluronic acid by cells was promoted. On the other hand, when MgCl
2 was supplemented to the epidermal cells in which magnesium transporters were not functional, hyaluronic acid production was not promoted. These results suggest that hyaluronic acid production is promoted as the epidermal cells absorb magnesium ions into the intracellular environment via magnesium transporters.
They conducted a comprehensive search for substances that are affected by magnesium ions in epidermal cells by using microarrays, etc., and found that the supplementation of MgCl
2 elevated the expression of spermidine synthase (SRM).
Then conducted a test that gave epidermal cells stimulation by UV irradiation and oxidative damage by hydrogen peroxide, it was confirmed that in the cells cultured with MgCl
2, the cell viability rate after UV irradiation and hydrogen peroxide stimulation increased versus the control group without MgCl
2. In other words, confirmed that magnesium ions have a cytoprotective effect.
This study found that magnesium, a type of mineral, acts on epidermal cells, promoting the production of hyaluronic acid, which has the function of maintaining skin moisture and flexibility, while also inducing spermidine synthesis, a type of polyamine that is attracting attention for its antioxidant activity, and reducing damage caused by UV rays and oxidative stress.
Will widely apply these results to skincare product development and will also continue research on minerals, which are widely present in nature and play an important role in maintaining human health, and apply these findings to beauty innovations that help people realize healthy skin.
They have conducted this research under the Inside/Outside approach of their R＆D philosophy, “DYNAMIC HARMONY”. They will continue their research in a bid to provide products and services that bring out the natural beauty from both inside and outside the skin by clarifying the skincare effects of magnesium, a mineral that is abundantly present in foods and other areas in daily life.
Shiseido has been studying the effects of minerals on the skin for more than 20 years and has already revealed that the barrier function can be restored by applying magnesium ions to the skin. Given that magnesium transporter has been reported to be involved in some skin diseases, they conducted research focusing on magnesium and magnesium transport via transporters in the epidermis to search for new effects of magnesium ions, which are abundant in cells.
Source: Shiseido
