Study summary · research use only
Topical application of Zanthoxylum piperitum extract improves lateral canthal rhytides by inhibiting muscle contractions
Plain-language summary
Paraphrased from the published abstract below — not a verdict on whether anything works.
This study combined in vitro assays with human topical application to test Zanthoxylum piperitum fruit extract as a non-invasive alternative to botulinum toxin type A (BoNT/A) injection for reducing facial wrinkles by inhibiting muscle contraction. The abstract reports that in vitro assays showed the extract decreased muscle contraction rates by 27.7% at 1000 ppm, that it inhibited electrical signal transduction in neurons, and that quercitrin was identified as responsible for the muscle contraction inhibition. It further reports synergistic effects in vitro with acetyl hexapeptide-8 and BoNT/A light chain, and that topical treatment decreased facial wrinkles, with combination treatment with acetyl hexapeptide-8 showing an average 14.5% improvement in wrinkles.
Abstract
Facial wrinkles are the predominant phenotypes of skin aging. To date, one of the most effective ways to improve wrinkles is botulinum toxin type A (BoNT/A) injection, which inhibits muscle contractions by reducing acetylcholine release from neurons. However, since BoNT/A is a hazardous neurotoxin, the injection can only be performed by medical doctors and the procedure is only possible through invasive injection, causing inconveniences such as pain. To overcome these inconveniences, we tried to find a way to reduce wrinkles non-invasively via mechanisms similar to BoNT/A. We first designed in vitro assays to test BoNT/A-like muscle contraction inhibition in two different model systems. By using the assays, we identified Zanthoxylum piperitum (Z. piperitum) fruit extract as a BoNT-like reagent (27.7% decrease of muscle contraction rates by 1000 ppm of Z. piperitum extract treatment). Next, we determined mechanisms of how Z. piperitum extract decreases muscle contraction rates and found that the extract treatment inhibits electrical signal transduction in neurons. We also showed that among known components of Z. piperitum extract, quercitrin is responsible for muscle contraction inhibition. We further identified that Z. piperitum extract has synergistic effects with acetyl hexapeptide-8 and BoNT/A light chain, which are well-known BoNT-like peptides. Finally, we showed that topical treatment of the Z. piperitum extract indeed decreases facial wrinkles and treatment of Z. piperitum extract with acetyl hexapeptide-8 has a tendency to improve wrinkles synergistically (14.5% improvement on average). The synergistic effect of the combination is expected to improve wrinkles effectively by implementing the BoNT/A mechanisms in a non-invasive way.
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