Antioxidant and anti-aging potential of a peptide formulation (Gal 2 -Pep) conjugated with gallic acid.

Skin is highly vulnerable to premature aging due to external stress, therefore, in this study, a peptide formulation, (galloyl) ₂ -KTPPTTP (Gal ₂ -Pep) was synthesized by combining TPPTTP peptide, and gallic acid (GA). All peptides were synthesized on 2-chlorotrityl chloride resin using solid-phase peptide synthesis (SPPS), and analyzed on an electrospray ionization (ESI)/quadrupole-time-of-flight (Q-TOF) tandem mass spectroscopy (MS) system. Initially, Gal ₂ -Pep showed no toxicity below the concentration 100 μM with cell survival rate of 88% for keratinocytes and fibroblasts. The reactive oxygen species (ROS) scavenging activity of Gal ₂ -Pep was more stable compared to GA alone; and after four weeks at room temperature, its ROS scavenging activity remained higher than 50%. Moreover, the peptide formulation, Gal ₂ -Pep also exhibited elastase inhibitory effect in CCD-1064Sk fibroblast cells. Based on the results of RT-qPCR, it was proved in this study that Gal ₂ -Pep increased the expression of PGC-1α to prevent oxidative stress, and validated its potential as an anti-aging agent through increasing the expression of type I collagen and by decreasing the expression of matrix metalloproteinase-1 (MMP1). The findings obtained reinforce the suggestion that the peptide formulation synthesized in this study could be used as a natural antioxidant and anti-aging agent for its cosmetic applications.
Competing Interests: There are no conflicts to declare.
(This journal is © The Royal Society of Chemistry.)