Compositions of plant extracts for reducing UV damage

Abstract

Provided is a plant extract-containing composition for reducing skin damage caused by ultraviolet radiation. The composition includes a combination of extracts of spinach, black tea, green tea, Pu-erh tea, Four Seasons Spring tea, red wine, blueberry, grape seeds, citrus, or green coffee beans.

Claims

1. A method of treating skin damage caused by ultraviolet radiation in a human in need thereof, consisting essentially of administering to the human subject an therapeutically effective amounts of a pharmaceutical composition, wherein the pharmaceutical composition consists essentially of a pharmaceutically acceptable carrier and a combination selected from the group consisting of 0.25 mg/ml of a spinach extract and 0.25 mg/ml of a black tea extract, 0.5 mg/ml of a spinach extract and 0.5 mg/ml of a blueberry extract, 0.078125 mg/ml of a spinach extract and 0.078125 mg/ml of a grape seed extract, 0.0625 mg/ml of a citrus extract and 0.0625 mg/ml of a green tea extract, 0.125 mg/ml of a citrus extract and 0.125 mg/ml of a Four Seasons Spring tea extract, 0.25 mg/Ml of a citrus extract and 0.25 mg/ml of a red wine extract, and 0.25 mg/Ml of a citrus extract and 0.25 mg/ml of a spinach extract, wherein the blueberry extract is obtained by extracting fruit of North American blueberry (Vaccinium Cyanococcus).

2. The method of claim 1, wherein the ultraviolet radiation is ultraviolet A radiation.

Description

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

(1) The accompanying drawings form part of the present specification and are included here to further demonstrate some aspects of the present invention, which can be better understood by reference to one or more of these drawings, in combination with the detailed description of the embodiments presented herein.

(2) FIG. 1 shows the effect of the various compositions according to one embodiment of the invention on the percent proliferation of UV-irradiated skin fibroblasts.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENT

(3) The embodiments of the present invention are further described below, in reference to the accompanying drawings. Examples are set forth below to illustrate the features and applications of the present invention, and are not intended to limit the scope of the present invention. Those of ordinary skill in the art will appreciate that various changes and modifications may be made without departing from the spirit or scope of the present disclosure, which is defined in the appended claims.

(4) Definition

(5) Numerical quantities provided herein are approximated values. All experimental values may vary within 20 percent, preferably within 10 percent, and most preferably within 5 percent of the given values.

(6) As used herein, “pharmaceutically acceptable carrier” refers to one or more solid or liquid vehicles which are not toxic to mammals and which do not affect the biological activity of an active ingredient in a composition.

(7) The present invention provides a composition for reducing skin damage caused by ultraviolet radiation. The composition contains a plurality of plant extracts. The composition is prepared by mixing the extract of spinach, black tea, green tea, Four Seasons Spring tea, red wine, blueberry, grape seeds, citrus, or green coffee beans. The following examples disclose that said composition can greatly inhibit the death of skin fibroblasts caused by ultraviolet A irradiation.

(8) Materials and Methods

(9) Materials

(10) Eagle's minimum essential medium containing Earle's balanced salt solution (referred to as MEM), fetal bovine serum (FBS), penicillin/streptomycin, and phosphate buffered saline (PBS) were purchased from Gibco. 3-(4,5-dimethylthiazol-2-yl)-2,5-diphenyltetrazolium bromide (MTT) used in cell viability assay was purchased from AMERSCO. Dimethyl sulfoxide (DMSO) was purchased from Echo Chemical. Apple polyphenols were purchased from Giwan Ltd.

(11) Cell Culture

(12) In the following examples, the experiment was performed using human skin fibroblasts CCD-966SK (ATCC CRL-1881). The human skin fibroblasts were cultured at 37° C. under 5% carbon dioxide in MEM supplemented with 10% FBS and 1% penicillin/streptomycin, hereinafter referred to as cell culture medium.

(13) MTT Assay

(14) The cell viability or percent cell proliferation was measured by MTT assay. Briefly, an MTT solution (4 mg/ml MTT in PBS) was added to cells in a 96-well plate at 15 μl/well for a reaction at room temperature for 4 hours. After the reaction solution was discarded, DMSO was added to the cells at 50 μl/well and incubated with shaking for 10 minutes to dissolve the resulted formazan crystals. Lastly, the absorbance of the cell suspension at 570 nm (O.D. 570) was measured using an ELISA (enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay) reader (BioTek). The statistical significance of differences between data was determined by Student's t-test using the Excel software.

Example 1 Preparations of Plant Extracts

(15) 1-1 Spinach Extract

(16) The spinach extract is obtained by extracting spinach (Spinacia oleracea). The extract may be purchased from Hong Siang Farm Products Factory.

(17) 1-2 Black Tea Extract

(18) This example exemplifies the method of preparing a black tea extract. Black tea leaves (the fermented leaves of Camellia sinensis) are first washed, dried, and crushed coarsely with a pulverizer. Next, the coarsely crushed black tea leaves are extracted with water as the solvent, wherein the solvent and the coarsely crushed black tea leaves are mixed uniformly at a liquid-solid ratio of 5-20:1-5, and the extraction temperature is between 50° C. and 100° C., preferably between 75° C. and 95° C. The extraction time is about 0.5 to 3 hours. After cooled to room temperatures, the black tea extract obtained from the extraction step is filtered through a 400 mesh filter to remove solid residues. The filtered black tea extract may further be concentrated under reduced pressure at 45° C. to 70° C. to obtain a concentrated product.

(19) 1-3 Green Tea Extract

(20) This example exemplifies the method of preparing a green tea extract. Green tea leaves (the unfermented leaves of Camellia sinensis) are first washed, dried, and crushed coarsely with a pulverizer. Next, the coarsely crushed green tea leaves are extracted with water as the solvent, wherein the solvent and the coarsely crushed green tea leaves are mixed uniformly at a liquid-solid ratio of 5-20:1-5, and the extraction temperature is between 50° C. and 100° C., preferably between 75° C. and 95° C. The extraction time is about 0.5 to 3 hours. After cooled to room temperatures, the green tea extract obtained from the extraction step is filtered through a 400 mesh filter to remove solid residues. The filtered green tea extract may further be concentrated under reduced pressure at 45° C. to 70° C. to obtain a concentrated product.

(21) 1-4 Pu-Erh Tea Extract

(22) The Pu-erh tea extract is obtained by extracting Pu-erh tea leaves (post-fermented leaves of Camellia sinensis). The extract may be purchased from Nanjing Zelang Biotechnology Co., Ltd.

(23) 1-5 Four Seasons Spring Tea Extract

(24) This example exemplifies the method of preparing a Four Seasons Spring tea extract. Four Seasons Spring tea leaves (the leaves of the Four Seasons Spring tea plant) are first washed, dried, and crushed coarsely with a pulverizer. Next, the coarsely crushed Four Seasons Spring tea leaves are extracted with water as the solvent, wherein the solvent and the coarsely crushed Four Seasons Spring tea leaves are mixed uniformly at a liquid-solid ratio of 5-20:1-5, and the extraction temperature is between 50° C. and 100° C., preferably between 75° C. and 95° C. The extraction time is about 0.5 to 3 hours. After cooled to room temperatures, the Four Seasons Spring tea extract obtained from the extraction step is filtered through a 400 mesh filter to remove solid residues. The filtered Four Seasons Spring tea extract may further be concentrated under reduced pressure at 45° C. to 70° C. to obtain a concentrated product.

(25) 1-6 Red Wine Extract

(26) The red wine extract is obtained by extracting red wines. The extract may be purchased from Shanghai Boyoutang Biotechnology Co., Ltd.

(27) 1-7 Green Coffee Bean Extract

(28) The green coffee bean extract is obtained by extracting unroasted seeds of Coffea spp. plants. The extract may be purchased from ARJUNA NATURAL EXTRACTS Ltd (India).

(29) 1-8 Blueberry Extract

(30) The blueberry extract is obtained by extracting the fruit of North American blueberry (Vaccinium Cyanococcus). The extract may be purchased from Biomed Herbal Research Co., Ltd.

(31) 1-9 Citrus Extract

(32) The citrus extract is obtained by extracting the fruit of mandarin orange (Citrus reticulata). The extract may be purchased from Roterm Trading Co., Ltd.

(33) 1-10 Grape Seed Extract

(34) The grape seed extract is obtained by extracting the seeds of Vitis spp. plants. The extract may be purchased from Guarante Biotech Co., Ltd.

(35) 1-11 Rosemary Extract

(36) The rosemary extract is obtained by extracting rosemary (Rosmarinus officinalis). The extract may be purchased from Jiajing Baica Co., Ltd.

Example 2

(37) Inhibition of the UVA-Induced Death of Skin Fibroblasts by Compositions Containing Plant Extracts

(38) To examine the protective effect of the composition of the invention on the skin against ultraviolet radiation, cell viability assay (MTT assay) was employed to assess the percent proliferation of human skin fibroblasts CCD-966SK first irradiated with UVA and then treated with the indicated plant extracts or combinations thereof. Briefly, CCD-966SK cells were seeded at 5×10.sup.3 cells/well in 96-well culture plates, where each well contained 200 μl of cell culture medium. After incubation at 37° C. for 24 hours, the cell culture medium was removed and the cells were placed in a UV irradiation chamber (Vilber) and irradiated with 15 J/cm.sup.2 UVA for 1 hour, which was a half lethal dose of radiation for the cells. Thereafter, each of the plant extracts or each of the compositions containing plant extracts, listed in TABLE 1, together with the cell culture medium were added to the cells, which were cultured at 37° C. for 24 hours. Another group of cells, set as a negative control, was irradiated with UVA but treated with a cell culture medium free of plant extracts; and still another group of cells, set as a mock control, was not irradiated with UVA and was treated with the cell culture medium free of plant extracts. Finally, MTT analysis was performed to determine the percent proliferation for each group of cells. The percent cell proliferation is calculated according to the following formula:
Percent cell proliferation=O.D. 570 for each group/O.D. 570 for the negative control×100%

(39) TABLE-US-00001 TABLE 1 Treatments Percent cell proliferation Mock control 237% Negative control 100% Spinach 0.25 mg/ml 138% 0.5 mg/ml 155% Citrus 0.5 mg/ml 142% Black tea 0.03125 mg/ml 96.39%.sup.  Green tea 0.25 mg/ml 139.36%   0.0625 mg/ml 110.04%   Pu-erh tea 0.03125 mg/ml 96.79%.sup.  Four Seasons Spring tea 0.25 mg/ml 104.02%   0.125 mg/ml 100.40%   Green coffee bean 0.015625 mg/ml 127.31%   Red wine 0.25 mg/ml 169.88%   Blueberry 0.5 mg/ml 109.24%   Grape seed 0.078125 mg/ml 123.69%   Spinach + Black tea 180% 0.25 mg/ml + 0.25 mg/ml Spinach + Green tea 140% 0.25 mg/ml + 0.25 mg/ml Spinach + Pu-erh tea 110% 0.25 mg/ml + 0.25 mg/ml Spinach + Four Seasons Spring tea 140% 0.25 mg/ml + 0.25 mg/ml Spinach + Green coffee bean  60% 0.125 mg/ml + 0.125 mg/ml Spinach + Red wine 250% 0.25 mg/ml + 0.25 mg/ml Spinach + Blueberry 220% 0.5 mg/ml + 0.5 mg/ml Spinach + Grape seed 168% 0.078125 mg/ml + 0.078125 mg/ml Spinach + Apple polyphenols 126% 0.0625 mg/ml + 0.0625 mg/ml Spinach + Rosemary 115% 0.125 mg/ml + 0.125 mg/ml Citrus + Black tea 142% 0.0625 mg/ml + 0.0625 mg/ml Citrus + Green tea 176% 0.0625 mg/ml + 0.0625 mg/ml Citrus + Pu-erh tea 193% 0.03125 mg/ml + 0.03125 mg/ml Citrus + Four Seasons Spring tea 143% 0.125 mg/ml + 0.125 mg/ml Citrus + Spinach 204% 0.25 mg/ml + 0.25 mg/ml Citrus + Green coffee bean 167% 0.015625 mg/ml + 0.015625 mg/ml Citrus + Red wine 209% 0.25 mg/ml + 0.25 mg/ml Citrus + Blueberry  93% 0.5 mg/ml + 0.5 mg/ml Citrus + Grape seed 166% 0.078125 mg/ml + 0.078125 mg/ml Citrus + Apple polyphenols 114% 0.0625 mg/ml + 0.0625 mg/ml

(40) TABLE 1 shows the percent proliferation of skin fibroblasts after different treatments; FIG. 1 is a histogram corresponding to the values shown in TABLE 1. According to TABLE 1, the percent cell proliferation of the mock control relative to the negative control was 237%, indicating that UVA irradiation caused death of large numbers of skin fibroblasts. According to TABLE 1 and FIG. 1, compared to the negative control, the sole treatment with the spinach extract (0.25 mg/ml) or the citrus extract (0.5 mg/ml) increased the percent cell proliferation to 138% and 142%, respectively. In addition, the sole treatment with the black tea extract, the green tea extract, the Pu-erh tea extract, Four Seasons Spring tea extract, the green coffee bean extract, the blueberry extract, or the grape seed extract resulted in a percent cell proliferation ranging approximately between 95% and 140%. The sole treatment with the red wine extract resulted in a percent cell proliferation of about 170%.

(41) It is worth noting that the combination of the spinach extract with the black tea extract, the blueberry extract, or the grape seed extract significantly increased the percent proliferation of skin fibroblasts to 180%, 220%, and 168%, respectively; and the combination of the spinach extract with the red wine extract increased the percent cell proliferation to about 250%. Similarly, the combination of the citrus extract, at a concentration equal to or far below 0.5 mg/ml, with the black tea extract, the green tea extract, the Pu-erh tea extract, the Four Seasons Spring tea extract, the green coffee bean extract, the spinach extract, or the grape seed extract significantly increased the percent cell proliferation to between 142% and 204%; and the combination of the citrus extract with the red wine extract increased the percent cell proliferation to about 209%. The compositions having the particular combinations set forth above unexpectedly exhibit higher UVA protective effect than the sum of the UVA protective effect for the respective single components.

(42) In conclusion, due to the mix of particular plant extracts, the composition of the invention greatly inhibits the death of skin fibroblasts caused by ultraviolet irradiation. The normal proliferation of skin fibroblasts then contributes to maintaining the thickness and the UV barrier function of the epidermis, as well as supplementing the composition of the extracellular matrix of the skin and maintaining the renewal of the dermis. Therefore, the composition of the invention, along with a pharmaceutically acceptable carrier, may be used in the manufacture of a pharmaceutical composition for reducing skin damage caused by ultraviolet radiation. The pharmaceutical composition may be in the form of a solution, a powder, a capsule, or a tablet, but not limited thereto.