Assessment of biophysical properties of human skin following topical application of marine sea weed / Nurul Atikah Mohd Radzi

Seaweeds are plant-like organisms which received great attention as they were reported to possess various potential benefits such as antioxidant, antimicrobial, anti-proliferative and others. For this reason, Kappaphycusalvarezii of the red seaweeds was selected for further investigations to study its benefits on biophysical parameters of the human skin. In this study, a cream formulation containing 3% w/w aqueous extract of K. alvarezeii was prepared. The cream was characterized in terms of its mean droplet size, rheology, texture, pH, stability and sun protection factor (SPF) properties. Following that, a panel study comprising of 20 panelists were carried out to assess the effect of K.alvarezeii cream on the skin elasticity, hydration and transepidermal water loss (TEWL) over a 6-hour application on the volar forearm area. The mean droplet size of the cream was found to be -15 µm with a pH of mildly acidic (pH 3.9). The cream showed elastic feature, which indicated its good spreadability for application on the skin. However, there were no significant improvements of the studied biophysical parameters in comparison to the placebo cream (without the active). In conclusion, the K.alvarezii has potential for further investigations for cosmetic purposes with some formulation improvements.