Reduce wrinkles with hyaluronic acid, according to new study

A study published online in the Clinical, Cosmetic and Investigational Dermatology journal revealed that supplementation with hyaluronan or hyaluronic acid (HA) effectively improves skin condition and reduces wrinkles.

The scientific community has long established that the skin contains as much as 50 percent of the body’s HA component. A decline in HA and collagen was believed to be the primary cause of wrinkles in the skin.

In order to conduct the study, a team of researchers at the Kewpie Corporation and the Toho University Ohashi Medical Center in Japan recruited 60 Japanese men and women aged 22 to 59 years old.

The participants were then categorized into three groups. Two groups received either of Kewpie’s HA components: Hyabest (A) with a 2k molcular weight, and Hyabest (S) LF-P with a 300k molecular weight. Both groups received HA doses of 120 milligrams daily for 12 weeks. In contrast, the third group served as the placebo control.

The researchers then conducted a three-dimentional analysis of the participants’ skin to evaluate how the treatments fared. The results showed that patients who received the HA treatment showed significantly better wrinkle area and volume ratio following the 12-week intervention compared with the placebo group.

The whole sulcus to volume ratio, which measures the grooves in the skin, was also greatly improved in both the HA groups than those who in the placebo group. The researchers also noted that while skin suppleness and luster improved in all three groups, patients who were on HA treatment exhibited better results than those who had placebo treatment.

“This study showed that the oral ingestion of the [molecular weight] 2k or 300k [hyaluronic acid] for 12 weeks suppresses wrinkles and improves the skin’s luster and suppleness in people aged 59 years or less who were healthy Japanese men and women over 22 years old. From the above, [hyaluronic acid] consumption is expected to be used as a method to maintain healthy skin,” the researchers said in a Nutra Ingredients U.S.A. article.

Analysis supports hyaluronan’s efficacy in skin care

The recent findings were reflective of the results of a review published in 2014, which demonstrated HA’s efficacy in moisturizing the skin and promoting its overall welfare.

The analysis cited several other Japanese studies that evaluated the compound’s efficacy. One study revealed that participants with rough and dry skin who received 240 mg of HA daily exhibited marked improvements in dry skin in the face and whole body at three and six weeks of intervention compared with those who were on placebo treatment.

Likewise, the skin moisture content at the lower left part of the eye and skin smoothness in the nape and the left part of the upper arm were significantly better in the HA group at three and sic weeks of treatment compared with the placebo controls.

Another study showed that ingesting HA derived from chicken combs may boost skin moisture. According to the study, female participants who took HA showed significant improvements at two weeks of treatment and another two weeks well after the intervention compared with the placebo group.

“The reduction of HA in the skin by intrinsic and extrinsic factors such as aging and ultraviolet radiation, smoking and air pollutants induce dryness in the skin. However, daily HA supplements can moisturize the skin because the metabolites of HA increases the skin moisture content by having an effect on the skin cells. Thus, consuming HA affects skin cell and improves dry skin physiologically. This review shows that consuming HA moisturizes the skin and employing HA as a dietary supplement makes the skin healthy. We believe that countries worldwide will benefit from this review and consume HA to alleviate dry skin,” the researchers wrote online.

Sources include: 

NutraIngredients-USA.com

Nutritionj.BioMedCentral.com