Shiseido has discovered that the use of pine cone extract in skin care can play a critical part in the prevention of sagging skin.
The discovery was made through joint research with Professor Nobuyuki Takakura of the Research Institute for Microbial Diseases, Osaka University, Japan.
The study findings revealed that pine cone extract, taken from Pinus sylvestris, can strengthen and normalise lymphatic vessels. When lymphatic vessels are impaired, it can lead to the leaking of fatty acids and accumulation of subcutaneous fat, which is one of the major causes behind swollen skin, which can then lead to sagging.
Shiseido and Takakura discovered the effects of pine cone extract after screening approximately 200 herbal components in order to find one that exhibits the same activity level as apelin – a biological peptide comprising 13 or 36 amino acids that is known to stabilise vascular structure.
Pine cone extract was found to have the same high activity as apelin, binding to G protein-coupled receptor APJ, which is expressed in the cell membrane of lymphatic endothelial cells, and stabilises lymphatic vessels.
Shiseido revealed that development is now underway to apply the new discoveries to skin care products.
