PROTECTING THE SKIN AGAINST OZONE.

This study by researchers at Arch Personal Care Products and Bioinnovation Laboratories demonstrated that MatTek’s EpiDerm and MelanoDerm in vitro human skin tissue equivalents could be used to prove that topical application of ozone stressed yeast extract protected the EpiDerm tissues against oxidative damage to both DNA and cholesterol, but not to the degradation of melanin in the MelanoDerm tissues. Ozone (O3) can be considered to be a transitory mixture of oxygen (O2) and singlet oxygen (1O2) and is extremely powerful, non-radical oxidizing agent. It has been well documented that ozone will readily kill microorganisms and it is frequently used as a sterilizing agent for this purpose. Unfortunately, ozone is also the most significant contaminate in urban air pollution and when local governments speak of pollution alerts, they are typically talking about unhealthy levels of ozone. Typical levels of ozone that are recorded in urban environments can range between 0.2 and 1.2 ppm with the higher levels being considered a respiratory threat to people with impaired breathing. Ozone ravages the human respiratory system and also is now identified as a important source of oxidative stress and reactive oxygen species in the skin. In particular, ozone has been identified as a source of depletion of cutaneous vitamins and lipids. In addition, it is well established that ozone can damage proteins and nucleic acids although such studies on skin have been sparse. More recently, it was suggested that atmospheric ozone may adversely effect the immune response in frogs, in particular the ability of pulmonary macrophages to function correctly, and that this effect may partly account for the decline in these species. It has also been suggested that certain cells in the human body may actually produce ozone as a mechanism of bacterial control although the results of this initial study have been questioned. Interestingly, to date, it appears that there has only been a single in vivo study conducted on human skin exposed to ozone. It is well known that growing yeast, in particular Saccharomyces cerevesiae or Bakers yeast, responds to threats in a very similar fashion as human skin cells, creating protective agents that can hold powerful oxidizing forces at bay. Because of this, bioactive yeast ferment extracts have been sold in therapeutic, cosmetic and skin care products for years. It has been shown that yeast will respond to oxidative stress and examination of the effects of ozone on yeast have been reported. This study by scientists at Arch Personal Care Products and Bioinnovation Laboratories examined the in vitro effect of ozone on some key cutaneous targets not previously examined including DNA damage, and cholesterol and melanin degradation, and will demonstrate the ability that a yeast lysate made from ozone-stressed yeast can offer a protective barrier against topical ozone assault.

Bakers yeast, Cholesterol degradation, DNA damage, ELISA-based analysis, EpiDerm, Melanin degradation, MelanoDerm, Oxidizing agent , Ozone, Pollution, Saccharomyces cerevesiae

Ozone stressed yeast extract, PBS, Trolox