title: Prevention of UV radiation-induced cutaneous photoaging in mice by topical administration of patchouli oil.
abstract: BACKGROUND
  Pogostemon cablin has been widely used in traditional Chinese medicine for the treatment of many diseases, including skin disorders. In the skin beauty and care prescriptions, Pogostemon cablin is one of the top ten frequently used traditional Chinese medicines.
  
  
  OBJECTIVE
  The present study was aimed to investigate the protective effects of the essential oil of Pogostemon cablin (patchouli oil, PO) against UV-induced skin photoaging in mice.
  
  
  METHODS
  To ensure the quality of PO, the chemical compositions of PO were identified, and the content of its chemical marker patchouli alcohol was determined, which was around 28.2% (g/g) in PO. During the experiment period, the dorsal depilated skin of mice was treated with PO for two hours prior to UV irradiation. Then the protective effects of PO on UV-induced skin photoaging were determined by macroscopic and histological evaluations, skin elastic test, collagen content determination and biochemical assays of malondiaidehyde (MDA) content, activities of anti-oxidative indicators including superoxide dismutase (SOD), glutathione peroxidase (GSH-Px), and catalase (CAT).
  
  
  RESULTS
  Compared to UV exposure groups, present results showed that topical administration of PO, especially at dose of 6mg/mouse and 9mg/mouse, significantly inhibited the increase in skin wrinkle formation, alleviated the reduction in skin elasticity and increased the collagen content by about 21.9% and 26.3%, respectively. We also found that application of 6-9mg/mouse PO could not only decrease the epidermal thickness by about 32.6%, but also prevent the UV-induced disruption of collagen fibers and elastic fibers. Furthermore, the content of MDA was decreased by almost 26.5% and activities of SOD, GSH-Px and CAT were significantly up-regulated after the treatment of PO.
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  Results of present study revealed that PO was capable of maintaining skin structural integrity caused by UV irradiation and it was useful in preventing photoaging. These protective effects of PO were possibly due to its anti-oxidative property. Therefore, we suggested that PO should be viewed as a potential therapeutic agent for preventing photoaging.
authors.affiliation: School of Chinese Materia Medica, Guangzhou University of Chinese Medicine, Guangzhou, People׳s Republic of China.
authors.forename: Rong-Feng
authors.initials: RF
authors.lastname: Lin
authors.affiliation: School of Chinese Materia Medica, Guangzhou University of Chinese Medicine, Guangzhou, People׳s Republic of China.
authors.forename: Xue-Xuan
authors.initials: XX
authors.lastname: Feng
authors.affiliation: School of Chinese Materia Medica, Guangzhou University of Chinese Medicine, Guangzhou, People׳s Republic of China.
authors.forename: Chu-Wen
authors.initials: CW
authors.lastname: Li
authors.affiliation: School of Chinese Materia Medica, Guangzhou University of Chinese Medicine, Guangzhou, People׳s Republic of China.
authors.forename: Xiao-Jun
authors.initials: XJ
authors.lastname: Zhang
authors.affiliation: School of Chinese Materia Medica, Guangzhou University of Chinese Medicine, Guangzhou, People׳s Republic of China.
authors.forename: Xiu-Ting
authors.initials: XT
authors.lastname: Yu
authors.affiliation: School of Chinese Materia Medica, Guangzhou University of Chinese Medicine, Guangzhou, People׳s Republic of China.
authors.forename: Jiu-Yao
authors.initials: JY
authors.lastname: Zhou
authors.affiliation: School of Chinese Materia Medica, Guangzhou University of Chinese Medicine, Guangzhou, People׳s Republic of China.
authors.forename: Xie
authors.initials: X
authors.lastname: Zhang
authors.affiliation: School of Chinese Materia Medica, Guangzhou University of Chinese Medicine, Guangzhou, People׳s Republic of China.
authors.forename: You-Liang
authors.initials: YL
authors.lastname: Xie
authors.affiliation: School of Chinese Materia Medica, Guangzhou University of Chinese Medicine, Guangzhou, People׳s Republic of China. Electronic address: suziren@gzucm.edu.cn.
authors.forename: Zi-Ren
authors.initials: ZR
authors.lastname: Su
authors.affiliation: School of Chinese Materia Medica, Guangzhou University of Chinese Medicine, Guangzhou, People׳s Republic of China. Electronic address: zyx@gzucm.edu.cn.
authors.forename: Janis Ya-Xian
authors.initials: JY
authors.lastname: Zhan
mesh_terms: D000279:Administration, Cutaneous; D000818:Animals; D004365:Drugs, Chinese Herbal / Q000008:administration & dosage / Q000737:chemistry / Q000627:therapeutic use*; D020834:Ethnopharmacology; D005260:Female; D019686:Lamiaceae / Q000737:chemistry*; D008516:Medicine, Chinese Traditional; D008815:Mice, Inbred Strains; D010938:Plant Oils / Q000008:administration & dosage / Q000737:chemistry / Q000627:therapeutic use*; D015595:Skin Aging / Q000187:drug effects* / Q000528:radiation effects*; D014466:Ultraviolet Rays / Q000009:adverse effects*
chemical_list: D004365:Drugs, Chinese Herbal; D010938:Plant Oils
keywords: Antioxidant; Oxidative damage; Patchouli oil; Skin photoaging; Ultraviolet rays