ANTI-AGEING
Liberating the relaxing power of watercress
Mélanie Coirier, Laurie Verzeaux, Elodie Aymard, Hélène Muchico, Brigitte Closs – Silab
Psychological stress is a genuine scourge of society. It is present chronically in our day-to- day lives with harmful consequences for our health.1,2
At the level of the skin, the impact of
stress is behavioral in nature, causing tension of the facial muscles. Certain facial areas are indeed prematurely
marked because they are more often called upon to express our emotions. Wrinkles thus appear on the forehead, glabella, crow’s feet and nasolabial fold. These wrinkles are caused by the contraction of muscles, the response to nerve impulses from the neuromuscular junction. In addition, the skin is metaphorically described as an extension of the brain, and it is now well known that it uses the same language as the nervous system, characterized by the identical expression of mediators and receptors. Hence, the skin can become the site of secretions of stress mediators, which results in an alteration of the barrier function and of the parameters of complexion radiance.3-6 However, among the mediators shared by
the nervous system and the skin, the oxytocin and endocannabinoid pathways have also been described as playing a positive role in wellbeing and cutaneous homeostasis.7-9
Increasing these
wellbeing mediators is therefore a strategy of choice to counteract the systemic impacts of stress on the skin.
Watercress, a sustainable source of minerals As minerals, such as potassium, sodium, magnesium and manganese, are known to regulate muscle contraction and cell signaling linked to receptors of wellbeing,10-12
they have
been investigated by Silab in the context of developing a new relaxing active ingredient targeting the behavioral and systemic consequences of stress. An internal screening was conducted by
the company and focused on ten plants with an elevated mineral content. Then, the same extraction protocol was applied on these candidates and it revealed that the watercress (Nasturtium officinale) was more interesting than the others. Indeed, this perennial plant is a member of the Brassicaceae family, known for their mineral richness in Ca, Mg, P, K, Na, Fe, Zn, Mn and Cu.13 For the supply of this raw material, a
partnership with a regional watercress grower has been implemented, with the aim of supporting the local economy, thus ensuring a
www.personalcaremagazine.com
secure, sustainable and traceable supply back to the watercress beds. The watercress selected is grown for food
use. This rapidly growing plant requires only minimal quantities of fertilizers. Culture is by successive sowing in watercress beds on shallow slopes through which water flows in a semi-closed circuit that reinjects water outflows. This supply of watercress uses an upcycling approach since it involves obtaining added value from a biomass of non-food grade. The resulting mineral-rich active ingredient
has showed its elevated efficacy on muscle contraction and mediators of wellbeing, making it an adapted solution for skin subjected to psychological stress.
Acting on muscle contraction for a ‘Botox-like’ effect Our face reflects our day-to-day emotions by the contraction of its muscles. These expressions, such as happiness, sadness or frustration, lead to the appearance of dynamic wrinkles or expression wrinkles that set in with age.14 At the molecular level, the contraction of
facial muscles is activated after the stimulation of motor neurons by a nerve impulse and the release of the muscle contraction messenger, acetylcholine, at neuromuscular synapses level (Figure 1).15,16
ABSTRACT
As a reflector of emotions, the face is particularly called upon and revealing of stressful situations. Tense facial muscles on the one hand, and the secretion of stress mediators at the cutaneous level on the other, lead to the premature appearance of expression lines and a dull complexion. Since muscle contraction and cell signaling linked to wellness mediators share a common mineral-dependent regulation, Silab beneficially used the mineral richness of the watercress plant to develop Myoline®, a natural relaxing active ingredient.
The capacity of the Nasturtium officinale
extract to reduce the frequency of muscle cell contractions was determined through an in vitro study conducted by Neuron Experts using a co-culture model of human neurons and muscle cells. The results showed that, as of the dose of 0.5%, the Nasturtium officinale extract significantly reduces the number of muscle contractions by 39% after six hours, a dose- effect observed up to the dose of 2% (Figure 2). This muscle-relaxant efficacy is shown in
vivo on two Caucasian panels (a young group exhibiting the first expression wrinkles and a
May 2024 PERSONAL CARE
41
Page 1 |
Page 2 |
Page 3 |
Page 4 |
Page 5 |
Page 6 |
Page 7 |
Page 8 |
Page 9 |
Page 10 |
Page 11 |
Page 12 |
Page 13 |
Page 14 |
Page 15 |
Page 16 |
Page 17 |
Page 18 |
Page 19 |
Page 20 |
Page 21 |
Page 22 |
Page 23 |
Page 24 |
Page 25 |
Page 26 |
Page 27 |
Page 28 |
Page 29 |
Page 30 |
Page 31 |
Page 32 |
Page 33 |
Page 34 |
Page 35 |
Page 36 |
Page 37 |
Page 38 |
Page 39 |
Page 40 |
Page 41 |
Page 42 |
Page 43 |
Page 44 |
Page 45 |
Page 46 |
Page 47 |
Page 48 |
Page 49 |
Page 50 |
Page 51 |
Page 52 |
Page 53 |
Page 54 |
Page 55 |
Page 56 |
Page 57 |
Page 58 |
Page 59 |
Page 60 |
Page 61 |
Page 62 |
Page 63 |
Page 64 |
Page 65 |
Page 66 |
Page 67 |
Page 68 |
Page 69 |
Page 70 |
Page 71 |
Page 72 |
Page 73 |
Page 74 |
Page 75 |
Page 76 |
Page 77 |
Page 78 |
Page 79 |
Page 80 |
Page 81 |
Page 82 |
Page 83 |
Page 84 |
Page 85 |
Page 86 |
Page 87 |
Page 88 |
Page 89 |
Page 90 |
Page 91 |
Page 92
