Pierre-Yves Morvan, Romuald Vallée – Codif International, France
The fundamental role of calcium for our organism is of course well known. This element is also essential to the correct functioning of the skin, particularly for keratinocyte differentiation and cellular cohesion. Indeed, a rise in the calcium content is crucial to induce a structural modification of the normal human keratinocytes isolated from skin and maintained in monolayer culture.
Some algaes have very high calcium content, in the form of calcium carbonates. This is the case for Corallinaceae genus (or Coralline). Corallines are red algae presenting an original aspect because of their calcified structure. This unique structure is due to carbonates contained in successive layers in their tissues. Corallines build a calcium carbonate support covered by a thin layer of vegetable tissue. This tissue is at the origin of the secretion of a jelly which precipitates carbonates. This hard carbonate matrix forms a protective shell. An extract of the alga Corallina officinalis (COE) was obtained, and its activity was tested on the adipocyte differentiation in a model of in vitro culture.
Materials and method
Corallina officinalis extract (COE)
A water-soluble extract of Corallina officinalis was obtained by aqueous extraction and concentrated by reverse osmosis. The obtained extract is very rich in minerals such as calcium (on average 0.094 g/L) and magnesium, and in trace elements such as iron and zinc. The extract was tested in the culture medium at final concentrations of 0.5%, 1% and 2% (v/v). These concentrations are non-cytotoxic according to a preliminary study carried out on the 3T3-L1 cells by the traditional method of measurement of the reduction of the MTT to form formazan crystals.4
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