The protective effect of hydrolyzed collagen gel from mackerel scad (Decapterus macarellus) to attenuate chronic UVB-induced photodamage

Objectives: Hydrolyzed collagen (HC) extracted from fish skin is a safe and effective native collagen alternative that can potentially protect skin from experiencing photoaging. This study is among the first to explore HC from mackerel scad (Decapterus macarellus) application via in vitro and in vivo approaches.

Methods: The protective effects of HC were investigated on Mouse Embryonic Fibroblasts (MEFs) induced by acute and chronic UVB, followed by testing of HC gel on UVB-induced photoaging models of mice. Cell viability test using the MTT method was performed on UVB-induced MEFs treated with HC concentrations of 10, 20, 50, and 100 g/mL. A gel form HC was applied topically in UVB-induced skin tissues of animal models and analyzed with ELISA to evaluate the inhibitory effect of MMP-1 and IL-6 expression.

Results: In vitro analysis showed that HC (10, 20, 50 μg/mL) could increase the viability of acute UVB-induced MEFs at a 60 mJ/cm2 dose. In chronic UVB exposure, all HC concentrations could protect the viability of induced MEFs at 40 mJ/cm2 dose. HC gel effectively inhibited the increased expression of MMP-1 and IL-6 in UVB-exposed skin, which may be related to its ability to suppress the activation of MAPK and NF-κB signaling pathways. Furthermore, HC gel intervened in the development of epidermal thickening and dermal layer damage in photoaged skin.

Conclusions: These findings indicated that HC from mackerel scad skin effectively provided a protective effect against the photoaging process.