People try hard to look younger and use numerous anti-ageing products and now a new study has found that methylene blue is one of the common antioxidants which can slow down skin aging.
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According to the researchers, methylene blue can be used to combat skin aging by means of adding it to cosmetic products.
The lead author of the study — Mei Xiong, an assistant research professor of cell biology and molecular genetics at the University of Maryland (UMD) in College Park, USA, who carried out this research with other colleagues.
According to a report by Medical News Today, methylene blue could protect the skin from oxidative stress and postpone the process of skin aging.
Methylene blue, also known as methylthioninium chloride, is used as a medication and dye. This medication helps in treating methemoglobinemia – a condition in which the blood is unable to carry oxygen effectively.
Methylene blue was also used to treat cyanide poisoning and urinary tract infections but it is not recommended anymore.
The researchers carried out a research using methylene blue and three more anti oxidants -- , N-Acetyl-L-Cysteine and MitoTEMPO. These antioxidants were tried on the skin fibroblasts which belonged to middle-aged people, older adults and even people who suffered from progeria, a rare genetic disorder in which symptoms resembling aspects of ageing are manifested at a very young age.
The fibroblasts were treated with methylene blue for four weeks and it was found that there was a reduction in the reactive oxygen species which damaged the skin cells.
It was also noted that there was a decrease in the markers of cellular senescence – a compound which triggered cell division and depleted cell death.
In the study, the scientists examined methylene blue and other three antioxidants, namely the MitoQ, N-Acetyl-L-Cysteine and MitoTEMPO on skin fibroblasts from healthy middle-aged and older adults. These also include people with progeria, which is a condition with accelerated aging.
Xiong stated that he was encouraged and excited to see skin fibroblasts obtained from people over 80 years old grow much better in methylene blue, as quoted by Science World Report. Methylene blue demonstrates a great potential to delay skin aging for all ages, he said further.
The researchers found that methylene blue proved to be a better anti-ageing product in comparison to three other antioxidants they used on the skin fibroblasts.
According to senior researcher Kan Chao, the study revealed that methylene blue could be a strong antioxidant for use in skin care products and cosmetics.
"The effects they are seeing are not temporary and methylene blue seems to make fundamental and long-term changes to skin cells," Chao said further as per a Science Alert report.
The findings of this research have been published in the journal Scientific Reports.
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