# Antioxidant and Anti-Aging Effects of Porphyra-334 Produced from Saccharomyces cerevisiae in Human Skin Models

## TL;DR

This study shows that PPR-334, extracted from yeast, has antioxidant and anti-aging effects on human skin cells and tissues, even without UV exposure.

## Contribution

The novel contribution is demonstrating PPR-334's anti-aging effects independent of UV exposure and identifying its antioxidant mechanisms.

## Key findings

- PPR-334 reduced ROS and increased CAT gene expression in human keratinocytes.
- PPR-334 suppressed MMP-1 and increased collagen in fibroblasts, reducing AGEs.
- PPR-334's efficacy was confirmed in human artificial skin models and linked to NRF2 and Caspase-9 pathways.

## Abstract

Porphyra-334 (PPR-334) is one of the species of mycosporine-like amino acids (MAAs), known as biological UV protection ingredients. In this study, we developed a large-scale purification process to extract PPR-334 from Saccharomyces cerevisiae and confirmed the previously identified efficacy of PPR-334, while also demonstrating its efficacy under UV-independent conditions. PPR-334 scavenged reactivity oxygen species (ROS) and increased catalase (CAT) gene expression in human epidermal keratinocyte cells (HEKa). In both HEKa and normal human dermal fibroblast cells (NHDF), PPR-334 suppressed the gene expression of matrix metalloproteinase-1 (MMP-1). NHDF treated with PPR-334 showed increased collagen expression and proliferation, while advanced glycation end-product (AGE) production was decreased. It was confirmed that the efficacy in vitro was also reproduced in human artificial skin tissue models. Above all, the antioxidant efficacy mechanism of PPR-334 through nuclear factor erythroid 2-related factor 2 (NRF2) and Caspase-9 signals was identified. It was determined that the proliferation efficacy of PPR-334 was due to factors related to the cell cycle. These results demonstrate the anti-aging efficacy of PPR-334 independent of UV irradiation, while enhancing the UV-blocking and antioxidant effects. Thus, we suggest the potential of PPR-334 as a sunscreen agent as well as a dual- or multifunctional material.