Photo-Protective Effect of AP Collagen Peptides on UV-Induced Skin Aging

Extrinsic factors including chronic ultraviolet (UV) radiation, smoking, and other pollutants may cause skin damage and aging.Oral supplementation of collagen, a major component in the skin dermis can have a photo-protective effect and help improve skin conditions.This study examined the effects of AP collagen peptides (APCP) containing glycine-proline-hydroxyproline (GPH) on UVB radiation in both human skin fibroblast and SKH-1 hairless mice.In UVB-irradiated fibroblast, APCP and GPH improved collagen type I and transforming growth factor-β1 gene expression in a dose-dependent manner.To evaluate the effects of APCP on skin photo-aging in vivo, hairless mice were exposed to UVB irradiation and administered APCP orally for 12 weeks.In the APCP-treated group, the mouse skin showed improved wrinkle indices (total wrinkle area, number of wrinkles, total length of wrinkles and mean foam factor) and histopathological changes (collagen and elastic fiber, and epidermal and dermal thickness) with a better skin barrier status (transepidermal water loss, subcutaneous hydration) and elasticity (gross elasticity, net elasticity, a portion of the visco-elasticity, and a portion of the elasticity) compared to the mouse skin of the control group.These results suggest that APCP is a potent candidate for an anti-photoaging ingredient.