{"title":"Bioavailability of Hydroquinone from Topical Formulations: A Product Comparison Study Using the in vitro Permeation Test.","authors":"Paul A Lehman, Thomas J Franz","doi":"10.1159/000545618","DOIUrl":"10.1159/000545618","url":null,"abstract":"<p><strong>Introduction: </strong>The in vitro Permeation Test (IVPT) is considered to be an important tool for assessing the topical pharmacokinetics of dermatologic formulations. An IVPT study evaluating products that contain the skin bleaching agent, hydroquinone (HQ), as the active ingredient, is presented in support of the value of IVPT in comparing the relative bioavailability of HQ products from different commercial products.</p><p><strong>Methods: </strong>Ten former OTC and Rx products were evaluated for in vitro bioavailability using human ex vivo skin in Franz diffusion cells. In addition, to assess the correlation between in vitro and in vivo absorption, the suction blister technique was used to determine HQ concentration in interstitial fluid from two products differing in HQ bioavailability.</p><p><strong>Results: </strong>Significant differences in HQ absorption between products were found. Total absorption varied from 27 to 279 μg/cm2/48 h, and neither total absorption nor the rates of absorption were found to correlate with labeled drug concentration. In vivo suction blister data on the two products were in accordance with the IVPT results.</p><p><strong>Discussion: </strong>Overall, this study demonstrates the sensitivity and value of the IVPT method for detecting differences in the pharmacokinetics of topical formulations containing a single therapeutic agent but which differ in formulation design.</p>","PeriodicalId":21748,"journal":{"name":"Skin Pharmacology and Physiology","volume":" ","pages":"1-8"},"PeriodicalIF":2.8,"publicationDate":"2025-04-03","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"143781103","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":4,"RegionCategory":"医学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
Moritz Reuter, Hans Schoenfelder, Annette Gaiser, Sebastian Volc, Dominique Lunter
{"title":"Emulsifier-Induced Changes to the Human Skin Barrier: Connection to Ceramide Profiles and Assessment as a Skin Lesion Model.","authors":"Moritz Reuter, Hans Schoenfelder, Annette Gaiser, Sebastian Volc, Dominique Lunter","doi":"10.1159/000545234","DOIUrl":"10.1159/000545234","url":null,"abstract":"<p><strong>Introduction: </strong>Emulsifiers are common excipients in dermal products stabilizing formulations such as creams and emulsions. But due to their potential for skin irritation, emulsifiers for pharmaceutical use should be tested regarding their tolerability before introducing them to the skin of patients. In this study, a systematic investigation with six oil in water-emulsifiers was performed on the forearms of 12 healthy human volunteers, six female, and six male.</p><p><strong>Methods: </strong>We analyzed the effects of pharmaceutical emulsifiers on the macroscopic skin health parameters measured as trans-epidermal water loss (TEWL) and skin hydration and measured the ceramide profile of the treated skin sites using liquid chromatography coupled to mass spectrometry in order to assess the skin tolerability of the investigated emulsifiers. In a second step, a Partial Least Squares Regression was employed to investigate relationships between changes in the ceramide profile to changes in the TEWL of skin treated with a nonionic as well as an anionic emulsifier.</p><p><strong>Results: </strong>Skin health measurements showed that the applied emulsifiers inflicted no significant changes compared to the water-treated sample, demonstrating a remarkable skin tolerability. The employed regression model showed a good fit as well as adequate prediction and identified ceramide species associated with impaired skin barrier function. Furthermore, it was found that the relationship between the ceramide profile and the skin barrier function in emulsifier-induced skin damage shows distinct similarities to the interplay of ceramides and skin barrier function in lesional skin linked to atopic dermatitis, hinting toward a common underlying mechanism and opening up possibilities to simulate disease-related changes to the skin for the development of skin damage models.</p><p><strong>Conclusion: </strong>In conclusion, these detailed investigations yield insight into possible mechanisms of emulsifier-induced skin damage and show its versatility in the investigation of pharmaceutical emulsifiers for formulation development as well as basic research.</p>","PeriodicalId":21748,"journal":{"name":"Skin Pharmacology and Physiology","volume":" ","pages":"1-13"},"PeriodicalIF":2.8,"publicationDate":"2025-03-28","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"143754409","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":4,"RegionCategory":"医学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
Rawlings E Lyle, Mirabel E Dafinone, Pallas Lim, Anuj Budhiraja, Alisha Mehta, Sara E Dahle, Roslyn Rivkah Isseroff
{"title":"Healing Diabetic Foot Ulcers with Topical Timolol Improves Healed Epithelial Integrity.","authors":"Rawlings E Lyle, Mirabel E Dafinone, Pallas Lim, Anuj Budhiraja, Alisha Mehta, Sara E Dahle, Roslyn Rivkah Isseroff","doi":"10.1159/000545357","DOIUrl":"10.1159/000545357","url":null,"abstract":"<p><strong>Introduction: </strong>Diabetic foot ulcers (DFUs) are a common complication in diabetes, leading to high amputation risk and significant healthcare costs. Given topical timolol's emergence as a potential wound-healing agent, our study explored its impact on epidermal integrity.</p><p><strong>Methods: </strong>This study was a post hoc analysis conducted as part of a randomized controlled trial at the Veterans Affairs Northern California Health Care System. Twenty patients, who had DFUs healed in the original trial, 10 in the timolol arm, and 10 in the placebo arm, were enrolled in the study. The primary outcome was transepidermal water loss, measured monthly for 3 months of post-healing using a closed-chamber device. The secondary outcome was re-ulceration rates over 1 year.</p><p><strong>Results: </strong>Transepidermal water loss at 1, 2, and 3 months of post-healing was significantly lower in the timolol group than in the placebo group (p < 0.01). Linear mixed models identified contralateral foot transepidermal water loss as a significant predictor of healed diabetic foot ulcer site transepidermal water loss (estimate = 0.76, p < 0.001). The interaction between timolol treatment and months since healing significantly reduced transepidermal water loss over time (estimate = -2.2, p = 0.002). The use of a wheelchair was also associated with a significant decrease in transepidermal water loss (estimate = -7.7, p = 0.01). Initial transepidermal water loss values were higher in patients who re-ulcerated, but the difference was not statistically significant (p = 0.42). There was no difference in re-ulceration rates in this small pilot study.</p><p><strong>Conclusion: </strong>Topical timolol significantly improved skin barrier function in healed DFUs, reducing transepidermal water loss. Although re-ulceration rates were not significantly different, the trend suggests potential benefits. Further studies with larger sample sizes and longer follow-up are needed to confirm these findings and explore transepidermal water loss's predictive value for re-ulceration.</p>","PeriodicalId":21748,"journal":{"name":"Skin Pharmacology and Physiology","volume":" ","pages":"1-11"},"PeriodicalIF":2.8,"publicationDate":"2025-03-28","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"143754413","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":4,"RegionCategory":"医学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
{"title":"Effects of Two Different Basic Skincare Regimens on Children and Adult Skin Microbiota: An Exploratory Randomized Controlled Crossover Trial.","authors":"Kathrin Hillmann, Tsenka Tomova-Simitchieva, Pauline Sophia Pinta, Zhile Xiong, Annette Moter, Varvara Kanti-Schmidt, Jan Kottner, Ulrike Blume-Peytavi","doi":"10.1159/000545433","DOIUrl":"10.1159/000545433","url":null,"abstract":"<p><strong>Introduction: </strong>Regular use of leave-on skincare products has positive effects on the skin barrier and appears to influence the skin microbiome in atopic dermatitis (AD). However, product-related effects on the skin microbiome are unclear. The aim of this study was to investigate to which extent the application of an emollient plus product differs from a petrolatum-based basic skincare product in terms of skin physiology, skin barrier, and skin microbiome.</p><p><strong>Methods: </strong>In an exploratory study regime, 50 subjects (children and adults) with mild AD were randomized to receive Bepanthen SensiDaily® (BSD) and Basiscreme DAC (DAC) for 3 months in a crossover design. Skin physiological measurements and skin microbiome swabs were taken on the forearm and lower leg before and after each 3-month application period of the respective product.</p><p><strong>Results: </strong>Improvement of skin physiological parameters after 3 months was observed in both topical leave-on product groups. Statistically significant differences were observed in baseline microbiomes between children and adults (p < 0.001) but not between the product groups.</p><p><strong>Conclusion: </strong>Regular application of leave-on products leads to better stratum corneum hydration after 3 months with better effects of BSD on the forearms of children and the lower legs of adults compared to DAC. The application of BSD and DAC did not lead to significant alterations in the overall composition of the skin microbiome. Although there were shifts in the frequency of certain microbial genera, these changes were not consistent between age groups and treatments.</p>","PeriodicalId":21748,"journal":{"name":"Skin Pharmacology and Physiology","volume":" ","pages":"1-10"},"PeriodicalIF":2.8,"publicationDate":"2025-03-24","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC12064132/pdf/","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"143701305","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":4,"RegionCategory":"医学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"OA","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
{"title":"Intake of Soymilk-Okara Powder for 8 Weeks Induced the Improvement of Skin Elasticity in Japanese Women.","authors":"Akihiro Maeta, Masahiro Katsukawa, Yaeko Hayase, Kyoko Takahashi","doi":"10.1159/000543802","DOIUrl":"10.1159/000543802","url":null,"abstract":"<p><strong>Introduction: </strong>Soymilk okara, a rich source of protein and dietary fiber, is a byproduct of soymilk manufacturing. We investigated whether soymilk-okara intake improved skin conditions in Japanese women with self-reported constipation.</p><p><strong>Methods: </strong>Thirty-seven Japanese women with self-reported constipation were included in this study. Two-thirds of the participants ingested 15 g of soymilk-okara powder daily for 8 weeks (okara group), whereas seasonal effects were evaluated in the remaining one-third (observation group). The participants' body composition and skin conditions (stratum corneum hydration, transepidermal water loss [TEWL], and gross elasticity [R2; epidermis and dermis]) of the malar and forehead were measured. Additionally, fecal concentrations of uremic toxins such as indole and p-cresol were analyzed.</p><p><strong>Results: </strong>Eight participants withdrew consent during the study period owing to COVID-19, etc., and the final data analysis was performed using data from participants in the okara (n = 19) and observation (n = 10) groups. No significant interactions among stratum corneum hydration, TEWL, or epidermal gross elasticity of the malar and forehead in the okara and observation groups were observed. In contrast, interactions of the dermis gross elasticity of the malar and forehead in both groups (p = 0.065 and 0.043, respectively) were observed. In the okara group, negative correlations between the changes in uremic toxins and the difference in the dermis gross elasticity of the forehead were observed.</p><p><strong>Conclusion: </strong>The intake of soymilk-okara powder improved skin elasticity, which may be a result of changes in the intestinal flora.</p>","PeriodicalId":21748,"journal":{"name":"Skin Pharmacology and Physiology","volume":" ","pages":"1-10"},"PeriodicalIF":2.8,"publicationDate":"2025-03-11","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"143606464","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":4,"RegionCategory":"医学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
Da-Been Lee, Seung-Lim Yoo, June Seok Heo, Ja-Yun Lim, Sang Shin Pyo, Ji Sun Moon, Mi-Ran Lee, Jinkwan Kim, Suhng-Wook Kim, Dae-Wui Yoon
{"title":"Skin Transcriptomic Analysis Reveals Altered Fatty Acid Metabolism Pathways in Mice Subjected to Sleep Fragmentation.","authors":"Da-Been Lee, Seung-Lim Yoo, June Seok Heo, Ja-Yun Lim, Sang Shin Pyo, Ji Sun Moon, Mi-Ran Lee, Jinkwan Kim, Suhng-Wook Kim, Dae-Wui Yoon","doi":"10.1159/000544736","DOIUrl":"10.1159/000544736","url":null,"abstract":"<p><strong>Introduction: </strong>Sleep fragmentation (SF) is a hallmark of sleep disorders and has been associated with systemic health issues, but its specific impact on skin health remains unclear. This study aimed to investigate whether SF impairs skin barrier function and identify the biological pathways involved in SF-induced skin damage.</p><p><strong>Methods: </strong>Twenty-four 6-week-old male BALB/c mice were divided into home cage control (HC) and SF groups. SF was induced using a commercially available SF chamber. Skin barrier function was assessed by measuring transepidermal water loss (TEWL) at 4 and 8 weeks. Epidermal thickness and dermal collagen density were also measured. Total RNA sequencing (RNA-Seq) and bioinformatics analysis were conducted to identify the affected pathways.</p><p><strong>Results: </strong>TEWL was significantly higher in the SF group than in the HC group at 8 weeks. Epidermal thickness and dermal collagen density were significantly lower in the SF group than in the HC group. In the SF group, 133 differentially expressed genes were identified, of which 14 were upregulated and 119 were downregulated. RNA-Seq and bioinformatics analysis revealed an altered fatty acid metabolism pathway in the skin of mice subjected to chronic SF. This was validated through quantitative real-time polymerase chain reaction.</p><p><strong>Conclusion: </strong>SF caused physiological and histological changes in the skin, altering the fatty acid metabolism pathway. The role of this pathway in SF-induced skin damage requires further exploration.</p>","PeriodicalId":21748,"journal":{"name":"Skin Pharmacology and Physiology","volume":" ","pages":"1-14"},"PeriodicalIF":2.8,"publicationDate":"2025-02-18","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"143450117","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":4,"RegionCategory":"医学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
{"title":"miR-211 Regulates Cutaneous Wound Healing through Inhibiting Inflammatory Reactions and Oxidative Stress by Binding SOX11.","authors":"Yun Chen, Xinyi Zhang, Fangfang Wu, Lixia Wang, Hongju Zuo, Hanbing Tian, Huan Chen","doi":"10.1159/000542697","DOIUrl":"10.1159/000542697","url":null,"abstract":"<p><strong>Introduction: </strong>Loss of skin integrity due to a wound or disease can lead to severe disability or even life threat. The highly expressed microRNAs in the skin are of great significance for skin development. The purpose of the investigation was to explore the effect and mechanism of miR-211 on inflammation, oxidative stress, and migration in keratinocytes.</p><p><strong>Methods: </strong>The HaCaT keratinocytes were treated with hydrogen peroxide (H2O2) to establish a wound-healing model. The expression of miR-211 was examined by quantitative real-time PCR. The cell function was reflected in proliferative ability, migration, apoptosis, and inflammation, which were evaluated using the Cell Counting Kit-8 (CCK-8) assay, transwell test, flow cytometry technique, and enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay (ELISA). The target of miR-211 was verified by luciferase luminescence measurements.</p><p><strong>Results: </strong>H2O2 inhibited HaCaT cell proliferation, migration, and promoted cell apoptosis, accompanied with the downregulation of miR-211. H2O2 led to inflammatory response and oxidative damage to HaCaT. miR-211 promoted proliferation and migration but improved cell apoptosis of HaCaT. The role of H2O2 on inflammatory response and oxidative stress was alleviated by miR-211. SRY-box transcription factor 11 (SOX11) was a targeted mediator of miR-211. SOX11 reversed the influence of miR-211 on cell proliferation, migration, apoptosis, inflammatory response, and oxidative stress.</p><p><strong>Conclusion: </strong>miR-211 regulated the proliferation, migration, apoptosis, inflammation, and oxidative stress of keratinocytes by mediating SOX11, thus participating in cutaneous wound healing.</p>","PeriodicalId":21748,"journal":{"name":"Skin Pharmacology and Physiology","volume":" ","pages":"1-11"},"PeriodicalIF":2.8,"publicationDate":"2025-01-27","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"143053274","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":4,"RegionCategory":"医学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
Petra Huber, Daphne Reinau, Zoé Brodard, Christoph R Meier, Christian Surber
{"title":"How to Choose an Emollient? Pharmaceutical and Sensory Attributes for Product Selection.","authors":"Petra Huber, Daphne Reinau, Zoé Brodard, Christoph R Meier, Christian Surber","doi":"10.1159/000543653","DOIUrl":"10.1159/000543653","url":null,"abstract":"<p><strong>Introduction: </strong>Emollients are part of daily body care and have become indispensable therapeutic adjuvants for the treatment of dry skin conditions. Adherence to topical treatments, notably for dry skin conditions, has been reported to be low. The underlying reasons may include insufficient medical and nursing support for product selection, specific product attributes, aspects of product application, and product feel on the skin. Attempts have also been made to portray lipid content, galenic product format, or rheological attributes (pharmaceutical attributes) as adherence-promoting or adherence-preventing properties. In the treatment of dry dermatoses with emollients, there is little information describing and relating to these various features. We explored whether the sensory attributes of selected emollients were associated with common product attributes such as lipid content, viscosity, or galenic product format and discuss the extent to which this information is useful for product selection.</p><p><strong>Methods: </strong>Nine trained panellists evaluated ten selected emollients based on a set of 18 predefined sensory attributes according to a standard guide for sensory descriptive analysis. Viscosity was determined using a rotational rheometer.</p><p><strong>Results: </strong>The emollients had product-specific sensory attributes. Lipid content, viscosity, and galenic product format are not generally indicative of sensory product attributes.</p><p><strong>Conclusion: </strong>Contrary to popular belief, lipid content and viscosity are not generally indicative of sensory product attributes. This is mainly due to the different physicochemical properties of the lipid-phase ingredients, which are product-specific and diverse. As most emollients contain significant amounts of volatile ingredients that evaporate during and after application, their galenic format changes dramatically. Therefore, this is not a viable selection criterion. Because refined information on sensory product attributes, as compiled for this study, is rarely available in everyday life, eliciting individual and subjective patient preferences through dialogue remains crucial. Ideally, patient preferences can be elicited from the sample packs.</p>","PeriodicalId":21748,"journal":{"name":"Skin Pharmacology and Physiology","volume":" ","pages":"1-9"},"PeriodicalIF":2.8,"publicationDate":"2025-01-20","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"143011101","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":4,"RegionCategory":"医学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
Francesco Lacarrubba, Anna Elisa Verzì, Cosimo Misciali, Davide Domenicali, Giuseppe Micali
{"title":"Reflectance Confocal Microscopy of Dermal Papillae in Healthy Skin: A Histopathology Controlled Study.","authors":"Francesco Lacarrubba, Anna Elisa Verzì, Cosimo Misciali, Davide Domenicali, Giuseppe Micali","doi":"10.1159/000543491","DOIUrl":"10.1159/000543491","url":null,"abstract":"<p><strong>Introduction: </strong>Previous studies have investigated the density of dermal papillae (DP) in normal skin using reflectance confocal microscopy (RCM), a noninvasive imaging technique that allows a real-time, high-resolution imaging of the skin, although no histological confirmation was provided. The aim of the present study was to compare the RCM evaluation of DP density in healthy skin with horizontal histopathological sections (HHS), a technique that provides a horizontal view of the skin.</p><p><strong>Method: </strong>Ten adult patients were selected, and a healthy skin area was marked for RCM examination and a subsequent 5-mm punch biopsy that was processed for HHS. Two different blinded operators performed DP counting on RCM and HHS images, respectively.</p><p><strong>Results: </strong>A total of 10 skin samples were obtained from the lower back. The mean DP density resulting from RCM was 84.27 ± 3.24/mm2, while that from HHS was 84.08 ± 2.74/mm2. Student t test showed no significant differences in DP count between the two techniques (p = 0.89).</p><p><strong>Discussion: </strong>The strength of this study is represented by the histological evaluation which has never been previously performed, whose results align with the RCM findings and validate previous data from our group, with negligible differences. We believe that the exact identification of the DP number in normal skin may have practical implications, as several inflammatory skin conditions are characterized by DP changes such as psoriasis, lichen planus, and discoid lupus.</p>","PeriodicalId":21748,"journal":{"name":"Skin Pharmacology and Physiology","volume":" ","pages":"1-3"},"PeriodicalIF":2.8,"publicationDate":"2025-01-17","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"143011109","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":4,"RegionCategory":"医学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
Elisa Pianta, Nils Günnewich, Christian Zimmermann, Orlando Petrini, Juan Diaz-Miyar, Cristina Fragoso-Corti
{"title":"In vitro Antibacterial and Antifungal Activity of a Skin Ointment and Its Active Pharmaceutical Ingredients Larch Turpentine, Turpentine Oil, and Eucalyptus Oil.","authors":"Elisa Pianta, Nils Günnewich, Christian Zimmermann, Orlando Petrini, Juan Diaz-Miyar, Cristina Fragoso-Corti","doi":"10.1159/000543158","DOIUrl":"10.1159/000543158","url":null,"abstract":"<p><strong>Introduction: </strong>Turpentine derivatives and eucalyptus oil are herbal substances traditionally used to treat various skin infections. Limited non-clinical data suggest they exert an immunological activity, but only scant information exists on their antibiotic effects. This in vitro study has been carried out to investigate the antibacterial and antifungal activity of a marketed skin ointment; its active pharmaceutical ingredients larch turpentine, eucalyptus oil, and turpentine oil; and their mixture, against bacteria and yeasts commonly present on the skin and causing skin infections.</p><p><strong>Methods: </strong>The antibiotic activity was tested using the drop dilution assay on the Gram-positive bacteria Staphylococcus aureus (wild type), a methicillin-resistant S. aureus strain, S. epidermidis, S. haemolyticus, Streptococcus pyogenes, the Gram-negative Pseudomonas aeruginosa, and the yeasts Candida albicans and C. tropicalis.</p><p><strong>Results: </strong>The ointment exerts a strong inhibitory effect on all Gram-positive bacteria at a concentration of 5 g/100 mL in the Müller-Hinton medium. It also has inhibiting effect on both Candida species but does not inhibit P. aeruginosa growth. As for the single active pharmaceutical ingredients, larch turpentine was the most active substance. The mixture of the three ingredients, in the concentrations used in the ointment, had a higher antibiotic effect than any of the individual ingredients studied, suggesting at least an additive activity.</p><p><strong>Conclusions: </strong>Our study has shown that the herbal ingredients and their combination exert antimicrobial activities, especially against Gram-positive bacteria, that justify their use in the treatment of skin infections.</p>","PeriodicalId":21748,"journal":{"name":"Skin Pharmacology and Physiology","volume":" ","pages":"1-8"},"PeriodicalIF":2.8,"publicationDate":"2025-01-10","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"142954671","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":4,"RegionCategory":"医学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}