molecules

Editorial
Natural Products for Cosmetic Applications
Jongsung Lee 1 and Chang-Gu Hyun 2, *

1 Department of Integrative Biotechnology, Sungkyunkwan University, Suwon 16419, Republic of Korea

2 Jeju Inside Agency and Cosmetic Science Center, Department of Chemistry and Cosmetics,
Jeju National University, Jeju 63243, Republic of Korea
* Correspondence: cghyun@jejunu.ac.kr; Tel.: +82-64-754-1803

Natural products provide an interesting and largely unexplored source for the develop-
ment of potential new cosmetic ingredients. In some regions of the world, natural products
are still the basis for the production of medicines and cosmetics. For many years, in highly
developed countries, an increasing interest in medicinal and cosmetic products based on
plant materials has been observed [1]. As a result, the global market demand for natural cos-
metic ingredients such as plant extracts that can be used for depigmenting, anti-wrinkling,
and other cosmeceutical uses is also increasing. Many companies around the world are
trying to develop inhibitors or activators related to collagen synthesis, melanogenesis, and
skin inflammation [2]. In addition, smart consumers using cosmetics tend to carefully
review the mechanisms of action of these inhibitors or activators. Accordingly, this Special
Issue (SI) on “Natural Products for Cosmetic Applications” is aimed at presenting novel
data on natural products and single compounds with skin protection and improvement
activities at either the enzymatic or cellular level. A number of original articles published in
this issue examine (1) anti-hair loss, (2) inflammation, (3) skin aging including skin barrier
strengthening and moisturizing, (4) melanogenesis, and (5) stretch marks and present the
results of in vitro and in vivo studies. Finally, this SI, concerning innovative applications of
natural products in the field of the cosmetic industry, contains 16 contributions, of which
14 are research articles and two are communications.
Some of these papers were inspired by information on the use of plants in tradi-
tional medicine, such as the photoaging effect of Potentilla glabra [3], wound healing and
melanogenic inhibitory effect of Angelica polymorpha flower [4], stretch mark inhibition
effect of Lagerstroemia indica flowers [5], anti-hair loss effect of Ulmus davidiana and Connarus
semidecandrus [6,7], anti-aging effect of Cirsium japonicum flowers [8], and whitening effect
Citation: Lee, J.; Hyun, C.-G. Natural of Pouteria macrophylla fruit [9].
Products for Cosmetic Applications. Interestingly, new approaches such as biorenovation and drug repurposing were
Molecules 2023, 28, 534. https:// attempted in the development of skin health ingredients. Biorenovation, a microbial
doi.org/10.3390/molecules28020534 enzyme-assisted degradation process of precursor compounds, is an effective approach to
unravel the potential bioactive properties of the derived compounds. Kim et al. and Park
Received: 20 December 2022
Accepted: 3 January 2023
et al. produced luteolin-30 -O-phosphate and prunetin 40 -O-phosphate with bioconversion
Published: 5 January 2023
technology, inhibiting lipopolysaccharide-induced inflammatory responses by regulating
NF-κB/MAPK cascade signaling in RAW 264.7 cells [10,11]. Kang et al. [12] attempted to
uncover a new application of spiramycin, an old medication that was classically prescribed
for toxoplasmosis and various other soft-tissue infections. They demonstrated that spi-
Copyright: © 2023 by the authors. ramycin can effectively attenuate the activation of macrophages, suggesting that spiramycin
Licensee MDPI, Basel, Switzerland. could be a potential candidate for drug repositioning as a topical anti-inflammatory agent.
This article is an open access article In addition, stretch marks are worth studying as raw materials for functional cosmetics.
distributed under the terms and In the work of Yeom et al. [5], Lagerstroemia indica flower (LIFE) inhibited the adhesion of
conditions of the Creative Commons RBL-2H3 on fibronectin (FN) and the expression of integrin, a receptor for FN, thereby
Attribution (CC BY) license (https:// reducing focal adhesion kinase (FAK) phosphorylation. Ultimately, they demonstrated
creativecommons.org/licenses/by/
that LIFE suppresses FN-induced mast cell activation and promotes the synthesis of ECM
4.0/).

Molecules 2023, 28, 534. https://doi.org/10.3390/molecules28020534 https://www.mdpi.com/journal/molecules

Molecules 2023, 28, 534 2 of 3

components in fibroblasts, which indicates that LIFE may be a useful cosmetic agent for
SD treatment.
In addition, keratinocytes and fibroblasts from anti-aging raw materials, papilla cells
from bald patches, and mask cells for stretch marks were used as the cell types used in the
development of functional materials for skin health.
In order to solve the hair loss problem, the authors set the following targets and
conducted research: (1) transforming growth factor-beta, insulin-like growth factor 1, and
dihydrotestosterone; (2) Wnt/β-catenin and autophagy; and (3) 5α-reductase activity and
an intrinsic apoptotic pathway.
There are four main categories of signaling pathways, the activation of which during
inflammation leads to the secretion of inflammatory mediators and pro-inflammatory
cytokines: (1) I kappa B kinase (IκB)/nuclear factor kappa B (NF-κB), (2) mitogen-activated
protein kinase (MAPK), (3) phosphoinositide 3-kinase, and (4) Janus kinase (JAK) signal
transducer and activator of transcription (STAT) signaling pathways. In this SI, as targets for
the development of anti-inflammatory materials, MAPK, IκB)/NF-κB, and STAT signaling
pathways were applied.
Lastly, in the case of wrinkle improvement, research was conducted to inhibit ROS and
apoptosis in keratinocytes, increase collagen production, and suppress MMPs in fibroblasts.
In addition, the MAPK signaling pathway was focused on to strengthen the skin barrier
and develop moisturizing ingredients.
To sum up, the SI “Natural Products for Cosmetic Applications” provides a current
perspective of the natural products from marine and terrestrial areas and the rapidly de-
veloping research area, as evident from the resistance to the available drugs and the wide
variety of chronic diseases. Considering the challenges in this exciting field of the discovery
of natural product ingredients, this issue not only complements our knowledge on bioac-
tive compounds, but may also uncover some novel ideas and motivation for the further
investigation of various prospective biologically active compounds impacting human skin
health practices. Finally, we wish to thank the invited authors for their interesting and
insightful contributions and look forward to new advances in the bioactive ingredient field
to be included in the following SI “Natural Products for Cosmetic Applications”.

Acknowledgments: We would like to thank all authors who contributed to this Special Issue.
Conflicts of Interest: The authors declare no conflict of interest.

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