Novel Spray Dried Algae-Rosemary Particles Attenuate Pollution-Induced Skin Damage

The present study investigated the effect of spray-dried algae-rosemary particles against pollution-induced damage using ex-vivo human biopsies exposed to diesel engine exhaust (DEE). For this, the complexation of hydroalcoholic rosemary extract with Chlorella (RCH) and Spirulina (RSP) protein powders was conducted. The process efficiency and concentration of rosmarinic acid (RA), carnosic acid (CA), and carnosol (CR) phenolic compounds of both products were compared. The RSP spray-dried production was more efficient, and RSP particles presented higher CR and CA and similar RA concentrations. Therefore, spray-dried RSP particles were prioritized for the preparation of a gel formulation that was investigated for its ability to mitigate pollution-induced skin oxinflammatory responses. Taken altogether, our ex-vivo data clearly demonstrated the ability of RSP gel to prevent an oxinflammatory phenomenon in cutaneous tissue by decreasing the levels of 4-hydroxynonenal protein adducts (4HNE-PA) and active matrix metalloproteinase-9 (MMP-9) as well as by limiting the loss of filaggrin induced by DEE exposure. Our results suggest that the topical application of spirulina-rosemary gel is a good approach to prevent pollution-induced skin aging/damage.