The Combination of Sulforaphane and Fernblock® XP Improves Individual Beneficial Effects in Normal and Neoplastic Human Skin Cell Lines

Abstract

Plenty of evidence supports the health effects exerted by dietary supplements containing phytochemicals, but the actual efficacy and safety of their combinations have been seldom experimentally evaluated. On this basis, we investigated in vitro the antioxidant/antineoplastic efficacy and anti-aging activity of a dietary supplement containing sulforaphane (SFN), a sulfur-isothiocyanate present in broccoli, combined with the patented extract Fernblock® XP (FB), obtained from the tropical fern Polypodium leucotomos. We evaluated the effect of SFN and FB, alone or in combination, on migration ability, matrix metalloproteinases (MMP) production, neoangiogenic potential and inflammasome activation in human WM115 and WM266-4 melanoma cells. Moreover, the effects on MMPs and reactive oxygen species production, and IL-1β secretion were studied in human normal keratinocytes. The SFN/FB combination inhibited melanoma cell migration in vitro, MMP-1, -2, -3, and -9 production, inflammasome activation and IL-1β secretion more efficiently than each individual compound did. In normal keratinocytes, SFN/FB was more efficient than SFN or FB alone in inhibiting MMP-1 and -3 production and IL-1β secretion in the presence of a pro-inflammatory stimulus such as TNF-α. The potential use of SFN/FB based supplements for the prevention of skin aging and as adjuvants in the treatment of advanced melanoma is suggested.

Role of Phytochemicals in Skin Photoprotection via Regulation of Nrf2

“…Treatment of keratinocyte cell line NCTC2544 with SFN (10 µM) combined with the Fernblock® XP (1 and 2 mg/ml), obtained from the tropical fern Phlebodium aureum (L.) J.Sm., substantially suppressed the production of MMP-1, MMP-3 and IL-1 in association with a decrease in ROS production. The SFN (5 and 10 µM) and Fernblock® XP (1 mg/ml) combination also showed inhibitory effects on melanoma cell growth and migration in vitro in association with the ability to inhibit the inflammatory microenvironment and neo-angiogenesis ( Serini et al, 2020 ).…”

Dermal thirdhand smoke exposure induced epidermal alterations in human keratinocyte cells through oxidative damage and MMP‐1 expression

“…Previous data also similarly reported that SFN is able to suppress MMP‐9 expression in MCF‐7 cells 40 and was found to inhibit MMP‐1, −3 and −13 expressions in IL‐1 and TNF‐ α‐stimulated chondrocytes 41 . A recent study on skin ageing suggested that SFN combined with a Polypodium leucotomos commercial extract inhibited the MMP‐1 and MMP‐3 productions in both normal keratinocytes and melanoma cells, significantly 42 . Even though, the aqueous extract of THS is lack of several organic soluble toxic compounds, numerous studies as well as the present study showed that water‐soluble toxic chemicals are able to induce cytotoxicity particularly via oxidative and inflammatory damage.…”

Uses of Polypodium leucotomos Extract in Oncodermatology

“…In 2021, Serini et al [ 71 ] conducted an in vitro study in which they assessed the antioxidant, antineoplastic, and antiaging activity of a dietary supplement containing PLE combined with sulforaphane (SFN), a sulfur-isothiocyanate present in broccoli. The PLE/SFN combination inhibited melanoma cell migration in vitro as well as MMP production, inflammasome activation, and IL-1β secretion more efficiently than individually.…”