The skin aging process can be considered to be due to intrinsic aging and photoaging. [1][2][3] The intrinsic aging is due to chronologic damage caused by slow and irreversible tissue degeneration whereas the photoaging is primarily the results of UV exposure.2,3) Clinically, chronologically aged skin is smooth, pale, and finely wrinkled. In contrast, photoaged skin is coarsely wrinkled and associated with dyspigmentation and telangiectasia. 1,4) Alterations of collagen, the major structural component of skin, in dermis layer have been suggested to be causes of the clinical changes observed in naturally aged and photoaged skin. 5,6) This collagen deficiency may arise from its reduced synthesis as well as increased degradation with a concomitant elevation of matrix metalloproteinase (MMP) expression. Ultraviolet irradiation induces the synthesis of MMP in human skin in vivo, and MMP-mediated collagen destruction accounts, in large part, for the connective tissue damage that occurs in photoaging. 7) Therefore, it is believed that the restoration of the collagen deficiency in aged human skin by the induction of new collagen synthesis and/or by the reduction of MMP will present a possible strategy for preventing and treating the clinical manifestations of skin aging, namely, wrinkles and skin laxity. MMPs can be divided into four categories based on the substrate preference: collagenases, gelatinases, stromelysins, and membrane-type MMPs. 8)Among human MMPs reported previously, MMP-1, which is an interstitial collagenase, is mainly responsible for the degradation of dermal collagen in human skin aging process. 9,10) Marine natural products provide a rich source of chemical diversity that can be used to design and develop new, potentially useful therapeutic agents. In this study, therefore, we tried to screen active compounds from 29 marine natural products which would be able to inhibit MMP-1 expression in human dermal fibroblasts and isolated eckol and dieckol from Ecklonia stolonifera which are major and active compounds to inhibit MMP-1 expression. MATERIALS AND METHODS Primary Human Dermal Fibroblast Cell Culture and Cytotoxicity TestPrimary human foreskin fibroblasts were established by outgrowth from biopsies of healthy donor of 10 years old, which was performed under the consent of volunteer, and cultured in Dulbecco's modified Eagle's media (DMEM) supplemented with 1% penicillin/streptomycin and 10% fetal bovine serum (FBS) in a humidified 5% CO 2 atmosphere at 37°C. Cultured cells at passages 4-10 were used for the experiments. For treatment, primary human dermal fibroblasts were maintained on culture media without FBS for 48 h. Cytotoxicity of cells was determined by the MTS assay (Promega, Madison, WI, U.S.A.) according to the manufacturer's instruction.Preparation of Seaweed Extracts Twenty nine different species of seaweed were harvested in the seashore in East Sea, Korea, and identified. The seaweeds were homogenized and crude components were extracted three times with methanol. The filtered supernatan...

In various plant species, polyamines have been implicated in regulating developmental phenomena as well as responses to environmental stimuli. The role of polyamines in regulating developmental phenomena in olive trees, such as flowering, is poorly understood, although seasonal changes and temperature effects on polyamine levels in olive trees have been reported. In this study, levels of free polyamines (putrescine, spermine, and spermidine) in the leaves of trees kept under non-inducing conditions were compared with polyamine levels in trees that were induced to flower under chilling and non-chilling conditions. Putrescine and spermine levels were much higher in leaves kept under inductive chilling conditions compared to control trees kept vegetative, but such increased levels of polyamines did not occur in trees that were induced to flower under non-chilling conditions. These results clearly differentiated between the effects of temperature versus the effect of developmental change on free polyamine levels in olive leaves. The results show that changes in free polyamine levels in leaves have little relevance to flowering in olives. Free polyamine levels within auxiliary buds increased when vegetative buds transformed into flowering buds and then declined when buds developed into flowers. Compared to floral buds, immature and mature fruits contained much smaller amounts of polyamines.