Atractyligenin, a terpenoid isolated from coffee silverskin, inhibits cutaneous photoaging

Ultraviolet (UV) light exposure-induced photoaging of the skin is a multifactorial process involving both extrinsic and intrinsic cellular mechanisms. Several naturally occurring products are known to confer protection against UV light-induced skin damage. Our preliminary studies confirmed that the ethyl acetate fraction of coffee silverskin exhibits inhibitory effects on matrix metalloproteases (MMPs). Furthermore, we previously isolated and identified atractyligenin, which has MMP-inhibitory activity, from the silverskin ethyl acetate fraction. The aim of this study was to elucidate the anti-photoaging effects of atractyligenin on human dermal fibroblasts and the underlying mechanism. Human dermal fibroblasts were exposed to 8 J/cm2 UVA radiation, and cell viability was analyzed by MTT assay. The fluorescent dye 2′, 7′-dichlorodihydrofluorescein diacetate (H2DCF-DA) was used to measure the intracellular reactive oxygen species (ROS) levels. Our study showed that atractyligenin significantly suppressed the expression of UVA-induced MMPs by inhibiting intracellular ROS production. Atractyligenin treatment reduced c-Jun phosphorylation and c-Fos expression by inhibiting the mitogen-activated protein kinase (MAPK) signaling pathway activated by UVA irradiation. Additionally, treatment with atractyligenin contributed to the homeostasis of collagen by restoring the loss of collagen absorption-related receptor Endo180 and altered fibroblast morphology induced by UVA irradiation. These results indicate that atractyligenin isolated from coffee silverskin inhibits multiple pathways in the human skin photoaging process and is thus a potential candidate for treatment or prevention of photoaging.