Will Ceramide from Konjac Be the New Favorite of Beauty and Health Products?

Source: nutrainingredients-usa

As the saying goes, everyone has the love of beauty. As a classic skin care ingredient, ceramide has been widely used in cosmetics. However, as the weather gradually becomes drier after autumn, a type of oral ceramide product has quietly become popular again.

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Ceramides, why is key to hydration and barrier repair

Ceramide, also known as sphingolipid, exists in the skin and is the main lipid component of the outer layer of the skin or the stratum corneum. Human epidermis is composed of basal layer, spinous layer, granular layer and stratum corneum from inside to outside. In the basal layer, phospholipids and cholesterol are the main components; while the granular layer mainly contains glycosylceramide. Ceramides in the stratum corneum play a key role in barrier functions such as moisturizing, maintaining skin structure, and preventing foreign matter from invading.

Simple diagram of skin structure

Affected by age, external environment, etc., the human body will gradually lose ceramide. Loss of ceramides leads to dry skin and dermatitis, which subsequently leads to wrinkling of the skin. Therefore, ceramide supplementation is essential to maintain the permeability and hydration of the skin barrier. However, synthetic ceramides are often used as cosmetics; natural ceramides have received widespread attention in recent years due to their safety.

Research has found that plant-derived ceramides are chemically identical to the ceramides found in our skin. There are several types of ceramides on the market today that can be obtained from plants such as rice, wheat, soybeans, and spinach. Glycosylceramide has been reported to improve skin barrier function in hairless mice by ingesting extracts of food materials containing glycosylceramide; oral administration of glycosylceramide reduces transepidermal water loss in normal adults or patients with atopic dermatitis.

Konjac (Family: Araceae) is a perennial plant commonly known as konjac or konjac. In Chinese folk medicine, konjac is used for tumor suppression, detoxification, and phlegm. Studies have shown that konjac is a rich source of glycosylceramide and glucomannan, and konjac tuber-derived glycosylceramide has been commercially developed as a dietary supplement for dry skin.

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Potential skin health benefits of taking konjac glycosylceramide orally

Previous studies in mice have shown that konjac glucosylceramide helps prevent transepidermal water loss; Usuki et al. reported a positive effect of konjac ceramide on itch-induced neurite outgrowth in PC12 cells. Based on experimental and clinical evidence from previous studies, a clinical trial published by BMC Complementary Medicine and Therapies evaluated the skin health benefits of oral supplementation with a hydroalcoholic extract of konjac tuber standardized to 5% glycosylceramides.

This placebo-controlled, randomized, single-blind clinical trial enrolled 51 healthy adult male and female volunteers aged 18-60 years who exhibited symptoms of dry skin, roughness, itching, redness, hyperpigmentation, blackheads and whiteheads . They were randomly divided into placebo group and control group, supplemented with 100 mg placebo or konjac powder capsules (5 mg glycosylceramide) every day for 6 weeks. Skin parameters were assessed by dermatological diagnosis. Subjects' perceived efficacy of the product was further assessed by a self-assessment questionnaire.

LCMS/MS analysis of glycosylceramides in cortex and brain

Results showed that oral administration of konjac extract significantly improved skin parameters, such as reducing skin dryness, hyperpigmentation, redness, itching, and oiliness. Interestingly, the overall performance of konjac extract increased significantly over time compared to baseline. Importantly, oral administration of konjac extract did not cause any symptoms of toxicity and was well tolerated throughout the study period.

Improvement in skin health from baseline to follow-up

In this clinical trial, results have shown that taking konjac extract (glycosylceramide) by mouth daily can significantly improve skin health compared to placebo. However, given the limitations of single-blind and subjective studies, further trials using a double-blind study design, including objective measurements, are needed to further explore the benefits of konjac extract and its effect on increasing ceramide levels in the skin.

As a water-soluble lipid substance, ceramide can quickly penetrate into the skin and combine with the water in the stratum corneum to form a network structure to lock in moisture. Therefore, as a new generation of moisturizer, it is often used in various high-end skin care products. However, traditional externally applied skin care products are limited to local maintenance. As the market continues to grow interest in plant-derived ceramides, oral ceramides that can be used for continuous maintenance of the whole body may become a trend in health and beauty in the future.