Fruit and vegetable concentrate combination may boost beauty from within: FutureCeuticals study

13-Mar-2014 - Last updated on 13-Mar-2014 at 13:14 GMT

A dose of a patent-pending, all-natural combination of fruit and vegetable concentrates may inhibit the action of an enzyme linked to degradation of elastin in the skin and other connective tissue, says a new study.

A single 50 mg dose of FutureCeuticals’ Dermaval ingredient was associated with a reduction in the activity of the enzyme Human Neutrophil Elastase (HNE) by 175% over baseline values, according to findings published in the journal Nutrition and Dietary Supplements.

The study was performed by scientists from Applied BioClinical Inc. (Irvine, CA) and FutureCeuticals Inc (Momence, IL). FutureCeuticals funded the study.

Dr Zbigniew Pietrzkowski, VP of R&D at FutureCeuticals, said there have only been a few instances where natural materials have been shown to demonstrate HNE inhibitory activity in vitro.

"But there has been little evidence of in vivo activity in humans,” he said. “This study is remarkable in that it suggests a potential direct effect of a small but concentrated amount of all natural food materials on everyday physiological activities associated with aging and skin health."

Study details

The researchers, led by Applied BioClinical’s Tania Reyes-Izquierdo, recruited 20 healthy people to participate in their acute, crossover clinical study. The volunteers served as their own controls during this 3-day trial. On the first day, all of the participants fasted and given only 300 mL of water. Blood samples were also taken. On the second day, participants fasted and then given 75 g of glucose, and blood samples taken 60 and 120 minutes later. On the final day, participants consumed a 50 mg serving of Dermaval followed by 75 g of glucose 15 minutes later, and samples again taken 60 and 120 minutes later.

Results showed that the glucose dose on day 2 produced a 175% in HNE levels, compared to baseline values. Ingestion of the fruit and vegetable concentrate combination on day 3, however, produced a statistically significant inhibition of HNE activity during a two hour period following ingestion.

“Interestingly, ingestion of 75 g of glucose resulted in the same blood glucose levels on days 2 and 3, indicating that ingestion of Dermaval did not affect glucose absorption,” wrote the researchers.

Commenting on the potential bioactives in the ingredient, the researchers report that the most abundant phytochemicals in Dermaval are punicalagins, which were measured at 202.3 mg/g. Other phytochemicals, including chlorogenic acids, quercetin, and ascorbic acid, were significantly less abundant at 15.5, 14.0, and 8.7 mg/g, respectively.

"It is unclear as to how Dermaval affects HNE activity," they said. "Our hypothesis is that this phytochemical preparation indirectly inhibits elastase activity. We are currently testing the hypothesis that Dermaval may affect blood levels of metalloproteinases, tissue inhibitors of metalloproteinases, pro-inflammatory cytokines, and chemikines under these experimental conditions. If confirmed, Dermaval may contribute to curtailing the proinflammatory state caused by high sugar consumption."

“Further investigations are needed to verify whether Dermaval inhibits HNE activity directly or indirectly. In addition, the results justify testing of Dermaval for skin health following treatment over a longer period of time.”

Source: Nutrition and Dietary Supplements
Volume 2014:6, Pages 1-7, doi: 10.2147/NDS.S53838
“Dermaval inhibits glucose-induced neutrophil elastase activity in healthy subjects”
Authors: T. Reyes-Izquierdo, B. Nemzer, R. Argumedo, C. Shu, Z. Pietrzkowski