LAUSR

BACKGROUND Antioxidant and anti-inflammatory effects of natural products on skin cells have been proved to be effective in improving skin damages. Capsicum species contain capsaicinoids which have antioxidant and anti-inflammatory properties, and various subspecies are cultivated. In this study, the effects of four Capsicum fruits and major constituents on oxidative stress and inflammatory reactions were measured human dermal fibroblasts (HDFs) to verify their effects on skin damage. RESULTS The inhibitory effects of nitric oxide (NO), reactive oxygen species (ROS), and prostaglandin E2 (PGE2 ) by cucumber hot pepper (CHP), red pepper (RDP), Shishito pepper (SSP), and Cheongyang pepper (CYP) were determined in HDFs. RDP and SSP inhibited the production of NO, ROS, and PGE2 in tumor necrosis factor-alpha (TNF-α)-stimulated HDFs. Additionally, SSP seeds restored TNF-α-induced increase in matrix metalloproteinase (MMP)-1 and decreased procollagen I α1 (COLIA1). In HPLC analysis of capsaicinoids capsaicin (CAP) and dihydrocapsaicin (DHC), CAP was detected higher than DHC in the peel and seeds of all 4 types of Capsicum fruits, and the total amount of capsaicinoids was the highest in SSP. CAP and DHC, which are were major constituents of Capsicum fruits, also inhibited NO, ROS, and PGE2 and restored MMP-1 and COLIA1. CONCLUSION RDP and SSP were shown significant protective effect on skin damages including oxidative stress, inflammatory reactions and reduction of collagens. Capsaicinoids CAP and DHC were proved as active constituents. This research may provide basic data for developing of Capsicum fruits as ingredients to improve skin damage such as inflammation and skin aging. This article is protected by copyright. All rights reserved.