Evaluation of antioxidant effect of an algae extract on skin: in vitro study

Abstract: Algae extracts are used as cosmetic products and used as additives in specific foods because of their antioxidant activity. Reactive oxygen species (ROS) such as hydrogen peroxide and superoxide radicals are toxic on the skin and can be scavenged by antioxidants, which are abundant in microalgae. Antioxidant substances protect the skin against external factors such as ultraviolet light (UV). Many creams that are concerned with treating the skin have antioxidant molecules. Researchers are performing many studies to achieve natural and non-chemical skin maintenance for the skin. Conducting in vivo studies to analyze the antioxidant potential of extracts on skin needs ethical permission to recruit a specific number of people. In this study, pig ear skin was used with the help of a skin-membrane-covered oxygen electrode (SCOE) to analyze the antioxidant effect of an extract from the microalgae Chlamydomonas reinhardtii. A study proved that this method was effective in measuring other antioxidants. Hydroquinone was used as a control to see if the system worked correctly. Hydroquinone showed that it could penetrate the skin and give antioxidant activity. When the algae extract was used, the same effect as for hydroquinone could not be detected. With a 2,2-diphenylpicrylhydrazyl (DPPH) assay, the algae extract was analyzed for its antioxidant capacity, and the assay revealed a positive antioxidant effect of the extract. The spectrophotometric measurement of the amount of bioactive antioxidant molecules in the extract in different solutions suggested that the one resuspended in ethanol presented a higher amount of carotenoids and chlorophylls than the extract resuspended in an aqueous buffer. Additional research will be needed to characterize the antioxidant potential of the extract from the microalgae Chlamydomonas reinhardtii.