Research Fields > Skin (Dermatology)

Pigeon's rationale for infant skin research: Nurturing a healthy skin barrier with filaggrin and the unique ingredient Filbaby EX

Sustain the health of infant skin, which has a premature barrier function. Introduce Pigeon's skin research and development of moisturizing ingredients.

What is Pigeon seeking through its skin research?

Pigeon seeks to contribute to the development and growth of healthy skin by maintaining the innate skin barrier function possessed naturally by infants.

The barrier function of infant skin is frail, and it has been suggested that the risks of allergic symptoms increase when the causative substance of allergies, allergens, enter through the areas affected by skin problems, such as infant eczema, causing percutaneous sensitization*.¹ Therefore, it is important to keep the skin healthy to prevent allergens from entering, which makes skin care during infancy increasingly more important. This calls for skin care products with a high moisturizing effect while remaining safe and secure for infant skin use.

*Percutaneous sensitization: A state where the skin prepares to trigger a series of allergic reactions to expel the allergen from the stratum corneum.

What is filaggrin, the focus of Pigeon?

Filaggrin plays a central role in the skin barrier and moisturizing functions, and people with atopic dermatitis have been reported to have a deficiency of filaggrin in the skin.^4,5

Filaggrin is a protein found in the stratum corneum that plays a central role in the skin barrier and moisturizing functions.
This protein has two main functions:

Filaggrin abnormalities are closely related to the onset of atopic dermatitis (AD), and AD patients reportedly have a deficiency of filaggrin in their skin.^4,5 Infant skin is particularly thin and immature; therefore, normal filaggrin expression and function are considered important for maintaining the healthy skin barrier function and preventing allergic march.

What is the moisturizing ingredient developed from Pigeon's filaggrin research?

Pigeon developed the unique moisturizing ingredient, Filbaby EX, by focusing on Eisenia arborea (sagarame) extract and mandarin orange (Citrus reticulata) peel extract as moisturizing ingredients that can induce filaggrin gene expression.

Study 1 : Filaggrin gene expression by Eisenia arborea extract and mandarin orange peel extract

Filaggrin gene expression levels were measured for each of the extracts and the mixture of extracts added to 3D epidermal skin models. Figure 1 shows the relative filaggrin gene expression compared to control (solvent only). The group with Eisenia arborea extract, a component of Filbaby EX, showed a significant increase in filaggrin gene expression compared to the control group. While no significant changes were observed with mandarin orange peel extract alone, it was confirmed that the extract did not interfere with the Eisenia arborea extract’s gene expression-promoting effect when combined with Eisenia arborea extract.

Fig. 1. Relative Filaggrin gene expression (Extract)

Study 2 : Filaggrin gene expression in baby lotion with Eisenia arborea extract and mandarin orange peel extract

Filaggrin gene expression levels were measured for products with the Eisenia arborea extract and mandarin orange peel extract, products with none of the two extracts, and other commercially available baby lotion added to 3D epidermal skin models. Figure 2 shows the relative filaggrin gene expression compared to the control (solvent only). Both the lotion and cream products containing Eisenia arborea extract and mandarin orange peel extract showed a significant increase in filaggrin gene expression compared to the control. Conversely, no significant difference compared to the control was observed in the lotion and cream that did not involve Eisenia arborea extract and mandarin orange peel extract. Even if the lotion and cream had the same ingredient, depending on the involvement of the two extracts, differences in filaggrin gene expression were observed. These results at the genetic level suggests that Filbaby EX might promote filaggrin production, potentially enhancing the innate skin barrier function and moisturizing function from within.

Fig. 1. Relative Filaggrin gene expression (Product)

User Monitor Study Results

In the two-week monitor study of Filbaby Baby Milk Lotion involving infants, increased stratum corneum moisture content was observed in the lotion group. Improvements were also noted in skin texture. Dermatologist evaluations reported favorable overall skin conditions, and improvement in moisturization was observed as well.

References

1) Lack G, Epidemiologic risks for food allergy., J Allergy Clin Immunol, 2008, 121, 1331-6
2) Ministry of Health, Labour and Welfare, Health Bureau, Cancer and Disease Control Division: Current Status of Allergic Diseases, 2016.
3) Baba M, The Beginning of the Allergy March. Allergy and Immunology 11(6): 736-743, 2004.
4) Palmer CN, Irvine AD, Terron-Kwiatkowski A, et. al., Common loss-of-function variants of the epidermal barrier protein filaggrin are a major predisposing factor for atopic dermatitis. Nat Genet 38: 441-446, 2006.
5) Nemoto-Hasebe I，Akiyama M，Nomura T，et al., FLG mutation p.Lys4021X in the C-terminal imperfect filaggrin repeat in Japanese patients with atopic eczema．Br J Dermatol, 161 (6): 1387-1390, 2009.
6) Masuya N, Kazal Boron Biswas, Kojima H, Ito K, Strengthening of on epidermal structure and improvement of keratin transparency or mandarin orange extract, Proceedings from the 40th Convention of the Japanese Cosmetic Science Society, 90, 2015.

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