Tier 3 — preclinical

Ingested Hyaluronan Moisturizes Dry Skin

Chinatsu Kawada, Takushi Yoshida, Hideto Yoshida, Ryosuke Matsuoka, Wakako Sakamoto, Wataru Odanaka, Toshihide Sato, Takeshi Yamasaki, Tomoyuki Kanemitsu, Yasunobu Masuda, Osamu Urushibata
Nutrition Journal 2014 13:70

Bibliography

PubMed
PMID 25014997
PubMed Central
PMC4110621
DOI
10.1186/1475-2891-13-70
Funding
No formal funding statement is presented in the article. Biohack Blueprint assessment: several authors are affiliated with Kewpie Corporation's R&D Division, a manufacturer of the hyaluronan dietary-supplement ingredients (Hyaluronsan HA-F, Hyabest) tested in most of the primary studies this review summarises.
Competing interests
The authors declare that they have no competing interests.

Study snapshot

DesignNarrative literature review summarising six randomised clinical trials (five double-blind placebo-controlled, one single-blind placebo-controlled) of oral hyaluronan
ModelAdults (predominantly Japanese, one Chinese cohort) with chronically dry or rough skin, across the six summarised primary studies
SampleSix primary studies summarised, individually ranging from n=22 to n=107 participants
InterventionOral hyaluronan (HA), 100–280 mg/day (or 37.52 mg/day HA within a mixed-ingredient product), sourced from chicken comb or microbial fermentation, for 30 days to 12 weeks across the summarised studies
Duration30 days to 12 weeks across the six summarised primary studies
EndpointsSkin moisture content (corneometry); Skin texture, wrinkles and smoothness (dermatologist evaluation); Skin pH

What the study showed, in plain terms

Hyaluronan (HA), also known as hyaluronic acid, is a different compound from the hydrolysed collagen peptides this site otherwise reviews, though the two are often paired in the same skin-health supplements. This 2014 review summarises six clinical trials of oral HA for dry skin.

Across the summarised randomised, placebo-controlled trials, daily oral HA doses of 120 mg or more significantly increased skin moisture content compared with placebo after two to six weeks, with benefits reported to persist for a further two weeks after supplementation stopped in one trial.

This paper is included in the Data Center as a background and differentiation reference: HA and hydrolysed collagen peptides act through different, complementary mechanisms in the skin, and readers should not conflate the evidence base for one with the other. Several of the review authors work for the manufacturer of the HA ingredients tested in the primary studies summarised, which is disclosed here as an editorial note.

Key findings

  • In a randomised, double-blind, placebo-controlled trial (n=22), 240 mg/day oral HA significantly improved dry skin condition on the face and whole body, and significantly increased skin moisture at the lower part of the eye, after 3 and 6 weeks, versus placebo.
  • A dose-comparison trial found 120 mg/day and 240 mg/day HA had equivalent effects on skin moisture, establishing 120 mg/day as the lowest effective studied dose.
  • In middle-aged and elderly women (n=39), 120 mg/day HA significantly increased skin moisture compared with placebo after 3 and 6 weeks.
  • A trial of fermentation-derived HA (n=42) found skin moisture improved significantly compared with placebo from 2 weeks of ingestion, with benefits persisting for 2 weeks after supplementation ended.
  • A non-Japanese (Chinese) single-blind trial (n=107) found 280 mg/day HA significantly increased both skin moisture and skin pH compared with placebo after 30 days.
  • Oral toxicity and safety studies summarised in the review found no clinically significant hematological abnormalities, mutagenicity or antigenicity across doses up to 3536 mg/kg/day in animal studies and 12 months of human supplementation at 200 mg/day.

What this study can and cannot tell us

  • This is a narrative review, not a systematic review or meta-analysis; no formal pooled statistical estimate or risk-of-bias assessment is presented across the six summarised primary studies.
  • Most summarised primary studies were conducted by the review authors' own research group using their own company's commercial HA products, a disclosed but unformalised conflict of interest.
  • Nearly all primary studies summarised were conducted in Japanese populations; the review authors themselves note that skin type, sebum production and dermal thickness differ by race and climate, and that the skin-moisturising effect of HA in other populations needs further placebo-controlled confirmation.
  • Reviews a different ingredient (hyaluronan) from the hydrolysed collagen peptides covered elsewhere in this Data Center; findings should not be extrapolated across ingredient categories.

Related papers in the corpus

Tier 2
Oral Hyaluronan Relieves Wrinkles and Improves Dry Skin: A 12-Week Double-Blinded, Placebo-Controlled Study
Tzu-Fang Hsu et al. · Nutrients · 2021

Citation network

Articles citing this research paper

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Biohack Blueprint analyses that reference this study in their evidence base.

Editorial review

Reviewed by the Biohack Blueprint research team

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Dr. Khaled Mahmoud, MBBChCritical Care Medicine, Longevity Science & Editorial Direction Dr. Amr Yasser, PhDCardiometabolic, Musculoskeletal, Gut & Bioavailability Dr. Abdulla Mostafa, PhDCellular Senescence, Neurological, Mitochondrial & Brain-Ageing Biology