Antioxidant and inhibition of senescence effects of embelin

Abstract

Embelin is a major active ingredient of Embelia ribes Burm. belonging to Myrsinaceae, an important traditional medicinal plant of Indian origin. Embelin has a benzoquinone derivative structure and has been studied for anticancer, anti-inflammatory, and antioxidative effects. However, there have been no studies on the use of cosmetic raw materials for embelin. In this study, antioxidant and inhibition of senescence effects of embelin were examined using hydrogen peroxide (H2O2)-induced cellular aging model of human dermal fibroblast. Cell viability was measured using the principle of water-soluble tetrazolium salt (WST-1) assay. qRT-PCR was used to quantitatively analyze gene expression patterns in human dermal fibroblasts (HDFs) by embelin. Dichlorofluorescein diacetate (DCF-DA) was used to measure changes in intracellular reactive oxygen species (ROS) concentration. Cell senescence was measured using the senescence-associated β-galactosidase (SA-β-galactosidase) assay, a method of staining β-galactosidase. A wound healing assay was used to observe cell mobility. The WST-1 assay demonstrated that decreased cell viability by H2O2 was restored by embelin in a dose-dependent manner. In addition, the expression of SOD1, GPx1, and CAT genes were upregulated by embelin suggesting that embelin-induced antioxidant capability may be enhanced through the upregulation of intracellular antioxidant-related genes. To determine whether embelin inhibits cell senescence in H2O2-induced senescence model of HDFs, the SA-β-galactosidase assay was performed. Embelin decreased the SA-β-galactosidase activity in a dose-dependent manner in H2O2-treated HDFs. Moreover, the expression of p21 and MMP1 genes were reduced by embelin in H2O2-treated HDFs in a dose-dependent manner. However, COL1A1 genes were increased by embelin in H2O2-treated HDFs in a dose-dependent manner. These results suggest that embelin has a potential as an antiaging cosmetic ingredient with antioxidant and anti-senescence properties.