Fight Aging with Pomegranate, Soy and Coffeeberry Ingredients

Each year, cosmeceutical companies and consumers alike search for the next big thing in anti-aging. This year with everyone going ‘green’ and searching for the latest in natural ingredients, pomegranate, soy and coffeeberry have carved an interesting niche within the anti-aging ingredient sector.

According to Leslie Baumann, M.D., chief of cosmetic dermatology, University of Miami: “Oral and topical antioxidants should be a part of every anti-aging skin care regimen.” Carl Thornfeldt, M.D., in his March 2008 article in the Journal of Cosmetic Dermatology, stated: “Mucocutaneous inflammation as the final common pathway of many systemic and mucocutaneous diseases including extrinsic aging has been established at the molecular and cellular levels.”1

Pomegranate, soy and coffeeberry are three such ingredients with known antioxidant and anti-inflammatory activity currently used in topical cosmeceutical products. All three have been documented in double blind clinical trials to significantly improve signs of extrinsic skin aging. Of more than 8,000 known antioxidant ingredients, fewer than 20 have been incorporated into topical formulations, which have been documented in human clinical trials to reverse signs of extrinsic aging.

The Powerful Pomegranate

The status of the pomegranate goes back 10,000 years, as far as the history of agriculture itself. Allusions to the pomegranate are readily found in the oldest cultures of the Indus Valley, ancient China and classical Greece, as well as in the Old Testament. It has a long history of medicinal use with the peel well regarded for its astringent properties.

Anthocyanins account for the red-purple color of the pomegranate’s skin, flesh and seed. More importantly, pomegranate juice made from squeezing the whole fruit is a rich source of punicalagins and ellagitannins, a large polyphenol antioxidant. Pomegranate seeds are also a good source of punicic acid, similar to conjugated linoleic acid (CLA).

Research has shown the physiological effects of pomegranate juice constituents are remarkable in their preventive potential against two of the major chronic diseases of aging—heart disease and cancer. There is evidence of the pomegranate’s impact on heart disease, including its ability to enhance nitric oxide production in endothelial cells.² There are also significant antiproliferative and proapoptotic effects attributed to the pomegranate3 in battling breast cancer4 and prostate cancer5 and it has been shown to retard tumor growth in animals. One can also hypothesize pomegranate juice may work the same way on skin cells.

In a study carried out at the University of Michigan Medical School, aqueous fractions prepared from pomegranate peel, fermented juice and lipophilic fractions of the pomegranate were examined for effects on human epidermal keratinocyte and dermal fibroblast function.⁶ Pomegranate seed oil, but not aqueous extracts of fermented juice, peel or seed cake, was shown to stimulate keratinocyte proliferation in a mono-layer culture. In parallel, a mild thickening of the epidermis was observed but without effect on fibroblast function. In contrast, pomegranate peel extract stimulated type I procollagen synthesis and inhibited matrix metalloproteinase (MMPs can break down skin proteins) production by dermal fibroblasts, but had no growth-supporting effect on keratinocytes. These results indicate the potential of pomegranate fractions in facilitating skin repair by promoting regeneration of the dermis and epidermis.

Three oral supplements containing a pomegranate mix have been documented in double blind clinical trials to effectively improve signs of extrinsic aging. Additionally, pomegranate demonstrated efficacy in improving signs of extrinsic skin aging in open label trials when topical and oral administration were combined.⁷

In January 2008, Navindra Seeram, Ph.D., reported on his study, which applied four tests of antioxidant potency of polyphenol-rich beverages available in the marketplace.⁸ Pomegranate juice had the greatest antioxidant potency composite index among the 12 beverages tested and was at least 20 percent greater than any of the other 11 beverages tested. In the comparative study, published in the Journal of Agricultural Food Chemistry, Seeram demonstrated the antioxidant potency and total polyphenol content were consistently greatest in pomegranate juice as compared to apple juice, acai juice, black cherry juice, red wine, blueberry juice, cranberry juice, Concord grape juice, orange juice, black tea, green tea and white tea. Although in vitro antioxidant potency does not prove in vivo biological activity, there is also consistent clinical evidence of antioxidant potency for the most potent beverages including pomegranate juice.

Dr. Murad came to market several years ago with products touting the anti-aging benefits of pomegranate, and Burt’s Bees recently introduced its own anti-aging line featuring pomegranate. It wouldn’t be surprising if more cosmeceutical companies jump on the bandwagon and add pomegranate to their pool of anti-aging ingredients, based on its clinically proven anti-inflammatory, antioxidant, and anti-aging properties.

Beneficial Soy

Soy has also been shown in clinical trials to reverse some of the topical signs of aging.⁹ Baumann noted: “Topical soy has a past reputation for improving hyper-pigmentation, elasticity and moisture in the skin.” Topical soy milk and total soy currently used in topical dermatological and cosmeceutical products for treatment of certain inflammatory conditions have now been documented in double blind clinical trials to significantly improve signs of extrinsic skin aging.¹⁰

This is thought to be accomplished through the estrogen-type and antioxidant effects of its metabolites, genistein and daidzein. They are phytoestrogens, or plant compounds with a weak estrogenic effect. Genistein has been shown to significantly inhibit chemical carcinogen-induced reactive oxygen species, oxidative DNA damage and protoncogene expression, as well as the initiation and promotion of skin carcinogenesis in mouse skin, and to potently inhibit ultraviolet B-induced erythema in human skin.¹¹ According to Baumann: “Several studies have shown that postmenopausal women have a measurably thinner dermis and less collagen as compared to premenopausal women. Topical estrogen has been demonstrated to retard the skin thinning and collagen loss seen in postmenopausal patients not on hormone replacement therapy, likely because estrogen receptor levels are highest in the granular layer of the skin. Therefore, the phytoestrogens genistein and daidzein have the potential to confer beneficial cutaneous effects, though this has not yet been established.”12

In January 2008, Israeli company Solbar extended the use of its soy isoflavone extracts into the formulation of water and oil-based cosmetics. SunOpta Organic Okara is a novel ingredient containing both insoluble soy proteins and fibers and will contribute to emulsification and other functional benefits of cosmeceuticals.

Berry Good Indeed

Coffeeberry is the extract harvested from the coffee cherry—the outer, fleshy coating around the coffee seed, which is usually thrown away when the seed or bean is used to make coffee. When this grape-like, green coffee cherry is harvested at the sub-ripe stage, it is rich in four polyphenol antioxidants: chlorogenic acid, condensed proanthocyanadins, quinic acid and ferulic acid.

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