The cosmeceutical Pycnogenol - Home Page

J. Appl. Cosmetot. 20, 241 - 246 (October/December 2002)
The cosmeceutical Pycnogenol®
Frank Schonlau, PhD
University of Munster
Twenteweg 15, 48161 Munster, Germany
Received: Februory, 2002
Key words: Collogen, Beouty, Photoogeing, Pigmentotion
Summary
Pycnogenol® (PYC) the extract of French maritime pine bark (Pinus pinaster), possesses various
unique bioche mical properties, which in combination designate it as fascinati ng cosmeceutical. PYC
is one of the most potent natural antiox idants with demonstrated abi lity to neutralise ali species of
oxygen radica ls. Its abil ity to reduce the vitamin C radical and to protect vitam in E from oxidation
helps to prolong the bioactivity of these vitamins. Women suffering from hyper-pigmentation (melasma) experienced significa nt reduction of pigmentation inte nsity a nd affected skin area size after J
month suppleme ntation wi th PYC.
PYC strongly bi nds to collagen and elasti n and this inhibits their enzymatic degradation. its improvement of microci rcu lation supposedly supports better oxygen and nutrient supply as well as better
detoxification of the skin. These unique properties re nder PYC a fascinati ng cos meceutical to supporta healthy a nd juvenile looki ng ski n.
Research has shown that PYC displays a pronounced an ti-inflammatory acti vity. In human volu nteers ora! supple mentation with PYC was able to inc rease the minima l erythe ma dose in response to
UV exposure. Jn vitro experiments have established that PYC constitue nts inhibit NF-kB-controlled
expression of inflammatory mediators such as adhesion molecules and cytokines. T hese findings
suggest an appl ication o f PYC for protection against photoageing of the skin.
Riassunto
Pycnogenol®(PYC) è un estratto di Pinus Pinaster della costa francese, particolarmente ricco in procian idine. Per la sua forte atti vità antiossidante è in grado di ric iclare e prolungare l'azione della vitamina C , è sicuro ne ll'uso e pri vo di effetti allergizzanti se utilizzato per via topica o per via sistemica.
Le proc ian idine si legano in modo stabile alle fibre di collageno de lla pe lle proteggendo PYC dalla
degradazione provocata dai radicali liberi o da enzimi.
Inoltre l'uso di questo estratto aiuta a prevenire g li effetti "invecchianti" provocati dalla luce del sole, neutralizzando i rad ica li li beri e riducendo conseguenteme nte i fenomeni infiammatori.
Preso per via orale da vo lontari sani, PYC è stato in grado di ridurre l'eritema indotto dagli UV in
maniera dose-dipendente. S i è visto con uno studio che questo estratto è in grado di interagire con
NF-kB espressione de i mediatori de ll'infiammaz ione prevenendone l'ossidazione.
In un altro studio si è visto che la forte attività antiossidante esplicata da PYC era in grado di ridurre
241
The cosmeceutical Pycnogenol
i fenomeni di iperpigmentazione in donne colpite da cloasma se utili zzato in dosi di 75 mg/giorno.
Sembra, inoltre, che PYC migliori la microcircolazione aumentando la produzione dell'NO endoteliale diminuendo la relativa dilatazione dei capillari. Si verifica così un maggior apporto di ossigeno
e di nutrienti che migliorano notevolmente l'aspetto della cute.
242
F.Schonlau
INTRODUCTION
Pyc nogenol111 (PYC) is the standardi sed, watersoluble ex tract of the bark of the French mariti me pi ne (Pinus pinaster). It consists of the pheno l ic constitue nts tax ifolin a nd catechin, a nd
o l igo me rs of th e la tte r, th e procy anidin s .
Furthe rmore, it contains phe nolic acids: p-hydroxybenzoic, protocatechuic, gall ic, vani llic, pcoumari c, caffeic and ferulic ac id [Rohdewald,
2 002]. Pyc noge n o l® i s th e trad e m a rk o f
Horphag Research Ltd. , UK. PYC is available
world-w ide as a food supple me nt, used primari ly for its potent antioxidant acti vity and its values fo r maintaining a health y cardio vasc ul a r
system.
PYC has been demonstrated to inacti vate essenti a ll y a li oxygen free radicals [Elstne r & Kle be r,
1990), and has been fo und to be o ne of the most
poten t, natural free radical scavengers [Noda et
al., 1997]. It is able to reduce the vitamin e radical, and thu s recycles vitamin e back to the
bioac ti ve fo rm [Cossins et al. , 1998]. In presence of PYC, vitamin E is protected aga inst oxidati on [Virg ili et al., 1998]. Furthe rmore, it up-regul ates intracellular acti vities o f GS H, GSH perox idase, superoxide di smutase a nd catal ase,
thus reinforcing cell-own anti oxidant protection
[Wei et al., 1997]. Oral supplementation with
PYC significantly enhances the antioxidant capacity in humans [Devaraj e t a l. , 2002]. Metabolisation studies have revealed a peak urinary
excretion of the smaller consti tuen ts 2 hours afte r consumpti on, while larger constituents peak
around 8 h post consumpti on [Grosse- DUweler
& Rohdewald, 2000).
PYC has been extensively researched for its safety, it has a very low acute tox icity, no chronic
toxicity, no mutagenicity, te ratogenicity and perin a ta l tox ici ty and it is no n alle rg ie [Ro hdewald, 2002). In clinica! studies dosages of up
to 360 mg PYC have safely been taken. In rare
cases a mild stomach discomfo rt occurs which
ca n be a vo ided by tak ing PYC together with
food .
In addition to being a powerful antioxidant, it
possesses two further basic biochemical actions.
[t also e nhances produc tion of endothelial nitric
oxide (NO) which is the underlying mechanism
for improvement of micro-circulation as well as
prevention of platelet aggregation. An improved
micro-circulation supposedl y is advantageous
for the ski n as we ll, as suppl y with oxygen and
nutrients and removal of waste products will be
e nha nced.
The affinity o f PYC to collagen a nd elastin has
been proposed to be the mechanism responsible
for strengthening of cap illaries as well as for its
use as an internal cosmetic.
RESULTS ANO DISCUSSION
Solubilised collagen, elastin , powde red skin a nd
ovalbumin were incubated with PYC in a concentratio n of 0.2 mg/ml and unbound PYC was
determ ined photometrically. It was found that it
d isplays a hi gh binding affinity with 33.9% of
added PYC be ing bound to collagen and 4 1%
bound to elastin, respecti vely. As expected from
the ubiquitous presence of collagen and e lastin
in skin, 37.9% of PYC were fo und to be bound
to powdered skin. As unspecific contro( protein
ovalbumin was tested and o nly 2 .1 % of PYC
were fo und to bind [Grimm & Hogger, 2002).
This de monstrates the very specific affinity of
PYC to the most important structure ele me nts of
skin and blood vessels.
To assess protection o f collage n a nd e lastin
fro m degrada tion the free amino groups of these
protei ns were exhaustively succinylated. Degradation of collagen and elastin was quantified by
determination of de velopi ng amino groups by
colour reaction with 2,4,6 trinitro benzosul furic
acid at 450 nm. Degradati on of collagen by matri x metalloproteinase - 1 (MMP 1, coilagenase
I ) was inhibited by PYC in a dose depende nt
ma nne r (figure 1) [Grimm & H ogger, 2002].
Correspo nding resul ts were obtained showin oo
that it inhibits degradation of elastin by MMP-2
and MMP-9.
243
The cosmeceut1ca/ Pycnogenol
References
1) Cossins E, Lee R, Packer L (1998) ES R studies of vitamin C regeneration, order of reactivity
of natural source phytochemical preparations. Biochem Mo/ Biol lnt 45: 583-598.
2) Devar aj S, Vega-L6pez S, Kaul N, Schonlau F, Rohdewald P, Jialal I.(2002) Supplementation with a pine bark extract rich in polyphenols increases plas ma antioxidant capacity and alters the plasma lipoprotein profile. Lipids 37: 93 1-934
3) Elstner EF, Kleber E (1990) Flavonoids in Biology and Medi cine III: Current issues in flavonoid research. National University of Singapore press, p. 227-235.
4) Grimm T, Hogger P. Action of Pycnogeno l®on collagen binding and protection against degradation. subm itted fo r publication.
5) Grosse Diiweler K, Rohdewald P (2000) Urinary metabol ites of French maritime pine bark
extract in humans. Pharmazie 55: 364-368.
6) Hagerman AE, Butler LG (1981) The specificity of proanthocyanidin-protein interactions. J
Biol Chem 256: 4494-4497.
7) Monboisse JC, Braquet P, Randout A, Borel JP (1983) Non-enzymatic degradation of
ac id-soluble calf skin collagen by superoxide ion: protective effect of fla vonoids. Biochem
Pharmacol 32: 53-57.
8) Ni Z, Mu Y, Gulati O (2002) Treatment of melasma with Pycnogenol®. Phytother Res, 16:
567-571.
9) Noda Y, Anzai K, Mori A, Kohno M. Shinmei M, Packer L (1997) Hydroxyl and superoxide
anion rad ical scavenging activities of natura l source antioxidants using the computerized JESFR30 ESR spectrometer system. Biochem Mo/ Biol fllt 42: 35-44.
10) Peng Q, Wei Z, Lau BHS (2000) Pyc nogeno l® inhibits tumor necrosis factor-a-induced nuclear factor kappa B activati on and adhesion molecul e expression in human vascular endothelial cells. Celi Mol life Sci 57: 834-84 1.
11) Rohdewald P (2002) A review of the French mariti me pi ne bark extract (Pycnogenol"'), a herbal medi cation with a diverse clinica( pharmacology. l nt J Clin Phann Ther 40: 158-168.
12) Saliou C, Rimbach G, Moini H, McLaughlin L, Hosseini S, Lee J , Watson RR, Packer L
(2001) Solar ultravio let-induced erythema in human skin and nuclear factor-kappa-B-dependent gene expression in keratinocytes are modul ateci by a French maritime pine bark extract.
Free Rad Biol Med 30: 154-160.
13) Virgili F, Kim D, Packer L (1998) Procyani dins extracted from pi ne bark protect a-tocopherol
in ECV 304 endothelial cells challenged by acti vated RAW 264,7 macrophages: role of nitric
oxide peroxyni trite. FEBS letters 431 : 3 15-318.
14) Wei ZH, Peng QL, Lau BHS (1997) Pycnogenol®enhances endothelial celi antioxidant defences. Redox Report 3: 219-224.
Author Address
Frank Schonlau, PhD
University of Munster
Twenteweg 15,
48161 Munster, Germany
246
J.Appl. Cosmetol. 20, 247- 257 (October/December 2002)
Aesthetic Medicine and Cosmetology
between East and West
Pierfrancesco Morganti
ISCD Secretary Generai - Roma - ltaly
Professor of Applied Cosmetic Dermatology, Il University of Naples - ltaly
Received: February, 2002
Key words: Aesthetic Medicine, Cosmetic Dermatology, Plastic Surgery, Traditional Chinese
medicine, Phosphatidylcholine, Azelaic Acid, Liposuction, Hyaluronic Acid,
Betag/ucan, Ascorbic Acid
Summary
Aesthetic medi cine, together with Cosmetic De rmatology, is today a new medicai disci pli ne which
is wide ly represented and legally recognized within the Chinese territory. " lt is the new science which concem s itself with the role played by beauty in nature far a better Iife'', as was stated by Professor Peng Qing Xing, in his role as Chairman, at the opening of the 2nd World Congress on Aesthetic
Me di cine and Cosme tology whic h has recently taken piace in Be ijing.
As a matte r of fact, Aesthetic/Cosmetic Derm atology has had in C hina a considerable boost, e peciall y in the course of the last few years, both with the opening of new medical-aesthetic wards in
the main hospitals and with the opening of medicai dispensaries devoted to this new medicai discipline.
An interest fo r aesthetics and the harmony of the body has a lways been characteri stic of C hinese
c ulture a nd has a lways been an integrai part of their natural medic ine.
This Congress has made the mode m trends in C hinese medici ne officiai, a kind of medici ne that has
always known how to wisely join their great natural istic tradition to pharmacology's modem advances.
Suc h was the birth of Cos meti c Medi cine with ali its related branches, such as Cosmetic Surgery,
Cosmetic Dermatology, De ntistry and trad itional Chinese Dermocosmetics.
Ali these new scientific branches naturally stem from the classic branches of Plastic Surgery, maxillofacial Surgery, Dermatology and of tradi ti onal Chinese Medicine.
Riassunto
La Medicina Estetica e la Dermatologia Cosmeto logica sono nuove branche della disciplina med ica
ampi ame nte rappresentate e legalmente riconosciute sul territorio della Repubblica popolare Cinese.
Rappresentano "la nuova scienza che pone in evidenza il ruolo che la bellezza svolge per un vivere
sano e felice" secondo quanto affermato dal Prof. Peng Quing Xing, in qua lità di Presidente, all'apertura del II Congresso Mondi ale sulla Medic ina Estetica e Cosmetologia tenutosi quest'anno a Pechino.
247
Aesthetic Medicine and Cosmeto/ogy between East and West
Infatti la Dermato logia Estetico/Cosmetologica ha avuto in Cina un vero e proprio boom. Specialmente nel corso degli ultimi an ni , con la apertura di reparti speciali zzati presenti nei maggiori ospedali e con l'apertura di studi medici speciali zzati in questa nuova disciplina medica.
Questo Congresso ha posto in eviden za come lo sviluppo della medicina tradizionale cinese abbia
saputo coniugare la loro grande tradizione naturalistica con lo sviluppo de lla moderna farmacologia.
Infatti , l'interesse per l'estetica e per l'armonia de l corpo ha da sempre caratterizzato la cultura ed ha
sempre fatto parte delle tradiz ioni cinesi.
È nata così e si è sviluppata la Medicina Cosmeto logica con le sue bra nc he q uali la Chirurg ia Cosmetologica, la Dermatologia, la Odontoiatri a Cosmeto logica e la Dennocosmesi Cinese. Tutte queste nuove branc he scientifi che provengono da lle classiche branc he medic he quali la Chirurgia
maxillofacciale estetica, la Dermatologia e la Medicina Cinese tradizionale.
248
P.Morganti
MEDICINE & AESTHETICS
The relation between Medicine and Aesthetics,
which has always been at the basis of Chinese
c ulture, is now a teac hing subject in officiai
Chinese Medicine, too. As much was claimed
by both Prof. Peng Q ing Xing of Beij ing University and Chairman of the Congress and by
Prof. Feng-Xi nzhong, who is Secretary Generai
and Head of the Department of Dermatology at
Shanghai University ( 1,2) (Fig. I and 2).
As a matter of fact, in that hospital as well as in
others, there are nurses-beauticia ns working
alo ng physicia ns special ized in the differen t
branches of medicine who are able to apply, fo r
example, masks fo r acneic skins to the faces of
those patients admitted into day hospital, or to
redefi ne the eyebrows' contour (Fig. 3). Also, in
Fig. 3 N11rse-bea111icia11 co11ce11trated 011 re111odeli11g eyebroivs. Aesthetical Surgery, Hospital of H11a11gsi
Beijing.
Fig. I Prof Pe11g Q11i11g Xi11g, Preside111 oftlie Co11gress.
the same hospital, it is possible to find a pharmacy selling cosmetics produced by the hospital
to outside patients, too (Fig.4).
Fig. 2 Prof Fe11g Xin Zhong, Secretary Generai of the
Cong ress and Head of th e Depa rtm ent of
Dennatology at Sha11ghai Un iversity
Fig. 4 The Pha rmacy of H11a11gsi - Aesthetic S11 rgery,
Hospital of H11a11gsi - Beijing
Evidence of the above statement can be found at
th e Huangs i Aes the tical S urgery Hospital in
Beij ing where patients are treated and c ured also fro m a n aesthetic viewpo int at the expenses
of the Chinese Health Care System.
TRADITIONAL CHINESE
MEDICINE
Traditional Chinese medicine seeks to treat the
whole person rather than an ind ividuai disease
249
Aesthetic Medicine and Cosmetology between East and West
entity. T herapy is based on the interpretation of
sig ns and sy mptoms e ncompassing the philosophy of Yin and Yang and to realig ne ment of
these forces (3).
The Chinese c haracter Yin indicates the shadowy side of a hill, Yang re presents the side
w hich is ex posed to the sun.
Yi n and Yang oppose each other and, altho ugh
they look like opponents, they are comple mentary. Thus, in a healthy body, Yin and Yang are
perfectly balanced, whereas in the course of a
disease the balance breaks down. Yin and Yang
continuously modify them selves in such a way
that, in the case of a n increase in the body te mperature, there wi ll be an increase of Yang, whereas the ensuing perspi ration (Yin) w ill decrease
the body flu ids and thus co nsume Yin.
Another fundamental concept in C hinese ph ilosophy a nd medic ine is Qi. T hi s concept has vari ously been tran slated into e nergy, materia i Force, or vita! power.
The different translatio ns o f the word Qi are due
to th e diffi c ulty of co rrectly tran s la tin g thi s
word which takes on diffe re nt meani ngs according to the most different c irc um stances.
As a matter of fact, Qi represents an e nergy that
man ifests itself simultaneously on physical and
s piritual leve! and is in a constant state of flu x
a nd in varyi ng states of aggregation.
Traditional Chinese physic ians perceive sk in diseases as a breakdown in the essenti al re latio nship between Yin nouri shme nt and Yang activity. Suc h a crisis a llows the subsequent invasion of the body by severa! pathogenic factors
such as wind, heat and humidity, which further
exacerbate the disease damaging Qi, blood and
body fluids.
Under such c ircumstan ces C hinese herbal therapy, seeks to e liminate hostile pathogens re-balancing Yin and Yang.
As much was learned from the e rudite and amusing tal k given by Professors Huang Feili a nd
Wang Wei of Beijing University (4).
250
NUTRICOSMECEUTICALS &
CHINESE FOOD
T he consta nt link between the bod y's beauty
and physica l and psychi c strength was the leit
mo ti ve of the entire Congress, which paid par ticu lar atte nti on to a project of Italian-C hinese
cooperatio n w hi ch I expla ined to a n a le rt a udience.
In fact, in C hi na too it was proposed to organize
a master in Aestheti c Med ic ine and Cos me ti c
Dermatology fo llowin g the programs that w ill
be developed fro m thi s year o nwards at the fac ulty of Med ic ine - headed by Pro f. Renato
Lauro (5) - at the Uni versity Tor Vergata in Rome. Such talk fo ll owed the ma in topic, o n whic h I gave a ta lk, concerning nutricos meceuticals.
The rhythm of !ife is regulated by ou r way of !ife and, conseque ntly, by our diet and by the way
we externally treat our body throu gh exercise
and the use of appropriate cosmetics.
The cosmeti cs we use not onl y have to improve
and optim ize the sk in cells' turnover, but al so
make our hair a nd the whole of ou r body look
more pleasant and harmonious. It is in o rder to
reach these goals that cosmetics and food supplements must be defined as cli ni call y corre~ t ,
i.e. they must be formu lateci a nd contro lled 111
their efficacy both in vitro and in vivo through a
number of methods whi ch have been properly
validateci.
T he correct deve lopment of these innovative cosmetics and food prod ucts undoubted ly represent an important opportuni ty for both researche rs and companies to meet everybody's expectation : grow old in the best way (6).
My talk ra ised muc h attenti on precisely fo r the
importance that nutritio n has always had in Chinese culture. For the Chinese in fact the old Roman proverb 111e11s sana in corpore sano has
a lways been valid. As a matter of fac t, physic ians in old China knew very we ll and held in
hioh
co n s iderati on the close re la ti o ns hip
b
P.Morganti
between diet and health.
In the philosophy of Yi n, we find that "each of
the five main organs reacts to only one out of
the five tastes: sour, bitter, sweet, hot and salty
that correspond respectively to the li ver, the
heart, the spleen, the lung and the kidneys, a nd
each organ takes from its corresponding taste
the energy to re-generate itself'. Thus the physician had the hard task of accurately c hoosing
the best food for each indiv iduai accordin g to
his/her ail ment. (7).
Food was considered so importa nt that eac h
foodst uff was treated in pharmacology together
with ali those e lements of animai, plant and minerai origi n havi ng recognized therapeutic effects. Stili nowadays, in modem C hinese pharmaco logy, a li produces from the anim ai, plant
and minerai kingdom are taken in to consideration an d many of them are used in nutri tio n
science: " take the five cereals as the nourishing
basis, the five fruits as complements, the five
meats as tonic and the five vegetables as supplements and mix together the Qi and the Wei (the
flavors) in your diet: such a mix ture is what he lps body and mind".
The search for Taoi st harmony is a n integrai
part of Chinese cooking : foodstuffs must be fresh and every dish balanced in its tastes, flavors
and even in colors. Foodstuffs must be varied in
the course of a meal so that the dry, the smooth
and the crunc hy, as well as the soft and the
saucy, may be there (Fig.5).
What therefore characterizes Chinese culture is
that in the course of their history the population
has always been able to remain healthy in a baJanced way precisely thanks to their nutritional
philosophy. Chinese cooking is thus one of the
most divers ified in the wo rld , like Italian
cooking. The dishes available are in fact over
5000, subdivided into fo ur main categories corresponding to as many geographical areas of the
country. Northern cooking, known as Mandari n
cook.ing, is typical of Beijing where it is possible to taste the renowned glazed duck; Southern
cooking, which is also the most renowned and
appreciated, is characteri stic of the Canton area;
Eastern cook.i ng is typical of Shanghai and of
the Yangtze regio ns a nd , fina l ly, Western
cooking that is characteristic of the Sichuan reg i on and whic h is u ndoubtedly th e hottest
within the Chinese c ulinary tradition.
Keeping in mind mostly Cantonese cooking that
the following proverb was coi ned: to be born in
Suz hou , to li ve in Hangzhou, to Junch in
Juangzhou (Canton) and to die in Liuzhou.
The reason why you should want to be born in
Suzhou, considered the Chinese Yenice, and live in Hangzhou is easy to imagine if you vis it
the marvelous garde ns of these towns that are
immersed in green areas (Fig. 6, 7).
Fig. 6 A famous bridge ofSuz/wu
Fig. 5 Chinesefood
251
Aesthetic Medicine and Cosmetology between East and West
THE AESTHETIC DENTISTRY
Prof. Ro nald E. Goldstein, Preside nt of the Internati onal Federati on of Aesthetic Dentistry, also gave a very inte resting talk as he brilliantly
explained how over the last few years in th e
United States severa! medicai health providers,
suc h as De rma to log ists, De nti sts and Plastic
S urgeo ns, have bee n wo rkin g in team w ith
beauticia ns so that their pati ents may be comple te ly satis fi ed of the results they obta in (8)
(Fig. 8).
re are dental technicians, dermatologists, plastic
surgeons, cosmetologists a nd beauticians who
work together to obtain the best results, both clinica) and aesthetic, so that the patient may be
totally satisfied .
The treatments' fi nal aim is to solve ali the medi cai prob le ms impro ving the p atie nt's look
both on the short and on the long term.
A whole session was thus devoted to the aesthetics of the mouth a nd teeth ; among those who
participated in this session were Philippe Gallon
fro m Fra nce, Mariano Flore Rubio fro m Peru,
Sandesh Mayekar fro m India, So-Ran K wo n
from Korea and Luo Yippi ng fro m C hina (913).
Healthy a nd shiny teeth are in fact a fondamenta! compleme nt to make your smile pleasant and
your face aesthetically beautiful.
Mens sana in corpore sano
Fig. 7 Bea11tif11/ garden in Suz/1011
Such was the generai catch-phrase of the Congress whi ch was attended , as Italian guests, by
Prof. Enzo Berardesca, Head of the Dermatologica! Departme nt, S. Gallicano Hospi tal in Rome, Dr Desanka Raskovic from I.D.l. in Rome
a nd Prof. Luig i Ru sciani , who is a re now ned
dermato logis t a nd plasti c s urgeon fro m the
Catho li c Un ive rsi ty in R o me ( 14- 16) (Fig.
9, 10).
Fig . 8 Prof RE Goldstein, Presidem of the USA i11tematio11al Fedemtion ofAesthetic Dentistry
It is important not onl y to cure or substitute a
cavity, bu t it is also very important to keep into
its due consideratio n the gums' aspect, the regular alignment of the teeth, their color, the lips'
outer look a nd also the gene rai look of the face.
It is for this reason that at his Dental Clinic the-
252
Fig. 9 Desanka Raskovic MD from /. D. /. Hospital in
Rome, giving her talk
P.Morganti
Fig. 10 Prof Luigi Rusciani, fro111 Carholic U11iversi1y of
Ro111e, giving his talk
Enzo Berardesca and Desanka Raskovic explained how two acti ve principles such phosphatidylcholine a nd the soluble azelaic ac id work
simultaneously in the treatment of acne.
These two derivatives, inserted into a particular
nanostructured emul sion whi ch was pate nted by
MAVI, have resulted active in drastically reducing both surface lipids and the bacterial colonies of Proprionibacterium acnes, whic h is the
main cause of the development and advancement of acne. Its use turned out to be very interesting also du ring the summer given its harmlessness that the cosmetic has shown to possess,
togethe r with a tota! lack of side effects due to
allergie photosensitization.
Prof. Luigi Rusciani also talked about his persona] experie nces on the use of a mixture of ascorbic acid, ~-glucane and hyaluronic acid havi ng
a low molecula.r weight (Fig. 11 ).
This new medical-su.rgical device has shown to
possess inte resting properties in modifying and
improving the aspect of acne scars and stretch
marks as well as lengthening the time of du.ration of the traditional natural skin fille rs.
A talk that was completely differen t from the
others was the one given by Prof. Katsuya Takasu, chairman of the Japan Society of Liposuction Surgery. He showed to ali the audience how
he was able to "get 15 yea.rs younger" (17).
W hi le he was talking in playback (? !), he explained in person the surgical interventions that
his colleagues have performed on him (face-lift,
liposuction of his cheeks, subchin and stomach,
redistri bution of his hair, peeling wi th phenol,
etc.). Acting under locai anesthesia, he desc.ribed himself the various interventions.
This is how ali the wri nkles disappeared from his
face, his general look improved and he was able
to go back in time, as was evident from the pictures that showed him the way he was before and
the way he appea.red to us after his intervention.
The participants of the Congress had certainly
never been present at surgical operations performed by a plastic surgeon on his/her own person.
This unusual presentation has characterized this
innovative lnternational Congress of Cosmetic
Dermatology, too.
T he re were many other interesting talks that
went from the cosmetic-aesthetic use of natural
products that are typical of Chinese culture, to
collagen fillings to modify wrinkles and skin
scars to surgical operations to increase the volume of the breast or to make the shape of the eye
more European-like.
What is interesting to underline is also the collaboration existing in hospitals between the plastic surgeon, the dermatologist and the beautician-nurse in arder to obtain better aesthetic results respecting the patient's health.
The severa! thousands of people who participated in this Congress crowded the halls and listened to the tal ks with great interest. Even the
exhibition area was we ll organ ized. T he on ly
Italian company was MAVI from Rome (Fig .
11 ).
Fig. 11 The booth of MA VI at rhe Co11gress Exhibi1ion
253
Aesthetic Medicine and Cosmetology between East and West
What is interesting to underline is the peculiarity of Cosmetic Dermato logy a nd of C hinese
Plastic Surgery that is c losely related to their
c ultu re and the way the Chinese live a beautiful
human body completely imme rsed in the surrounding nature ( I 8, 19).
lt is interesting to visit in ali the towns with a
C hinese spiri t the beautiful parks each ful l of
flowers and plants wisely looked after (Fig. 13),
and the way the Chinese conce ive the ir home in
the ancient Chinese culture.
Fig. 12 A view ofrhe ad111i11isrraror 's garden in S11zho11
the crowd.
The Chinese you meet on the street are in great
numbers and move qui c kly, a lmost running;
they take small, quick steps, as graceful as felines. On the street, which is the huge stage of
Chinese life, people carry out a li their activities
from the small hours of the morning unti! the
moment whe n du sk calls everybody back home.
The old ne ighborhoods, wh ich are the greatest
majority in to w n, are c haracterized by very
small houses, one onto the other, sometimes separated by narrow al leys where a bicycle can
barely pass. In Beijing, but also in Shanghai as
in many other c ities tow ns, bicycles co me in
g reat numbe rs a nd a re used by thi s colorful
crowd made up of cl ifferent ethnic groups.
Older and younger women shie ld from the sun
with small umbre llas that they insert even in to
the handle of the ir bicycles. Their complex ion
in fact must remain perfectly white!
Tt is also thanks to this way of staying outdoors
that skin tumors are less spread throughout the
whole of the Far East (Fig . 14).
THE CHINESE WAY OF LIVING
As a matter of fact, the home is organ ized
arou nd the garde n in such a way as to make it
possi ble to enjoy it from a li different angles
(Fig. 13).
Fig. 13 A1101her view of rhe ad111i11isrrator's garden in
Suz/1011
A particular hint must be given to the sensations
th at a European vis itor feels every time that
he/she arrives in China a nd makes contact wi th
254
Fig. 14 Giri wirh 11111brella. S11z/1011 Ga1rle11
P.Morganft
Without exaggerating, feeling no nervou sness
nor stress, frorn dawn to dusk the Chi nese strive, cornmi t the rn selves, produce a nd consurne
following an ethic of !ife that has characterized
thern throughout the centuries even if - due to
the events of recent rnodernization - a more Western-like way of life is noti ceable, with ali its
fau lts.
A typically Chinese custom is to take birds in
capti vity out to converse. What you see in the
mornings in the beautiful and well-ke pt parks in
the towns look like a picture painted in light colors. In these parks you rneet o ld people with
their cages completely covered to protect the ir
little birds from noises and the confusion. The
wicker cages are laid on the lawn. Once the pieces of c loth are removed fro m the cages the
birds are letto communicate and learn how the ir
free companions whistle (Fig. 15).
out by moving very slowly and which is particularly importa nt to safeguard your health and
to prevent di seases. As a matter of fact, the slow
rnovement of all muscles moving in harmony
with your breath has positi ve effects on the nervous systern and on the cardiovascular, respiratory, osteo-articular a nd di gesting syste ms and
on your basic metabolism.
Chinese Traditional Medicine and Western Medicine represent in China today two different
ways of treating pathologies. They can co-exist,
but at a ny rate they must reach the goal of keeping alt c iti zens healthy.
Aesthetic Medicine and Cos metology also aim
at treating the look of the body and the health of
the spirit following the anc ient Chinese traditions and the technical-scientific progress th at
took piace, especially in the West, in the course
of the last fifty years.
This is the fundamental message that was learned from this interesting Congress. About fi ve
thousand physicians and paramedics took pa rt
and about thirty companies from the dermocosmetic fi eld parti cipated in it. Of these only one
was ltalia n.
Fig . 15 A man with his bird
Another custorn that is noti ceable earl y in the
rnorning in the parks is a crowd of people of ali
ages performing Taij i Quan.
Taiji Q uan is a particul ar workout that is carried
255
Aesthetic Medicine and Cosmetology between East and West
References
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CTM and western medicine Abstract of: The 2 00 Conference on Medicai Aesthetic and Cosmetology, July 19-2 1 - Beijing, China, p. 57-58
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P.Morgant1
17) Takasu K. (2002) Rejuvenation of myself. Abstract of: The 2"" Conference on Medicai Aesthetic a nd Cosmetol ogy, Jul y 19-2 1 - Beijing, C hina, p. 32-33
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Author Address:
Pierfra ncesco Morganti
Via Innocenzo Xl, 41 - 00165 Rome ltaly
Tel. +39.6.9286261
Fax +39.06.9281523
E-mail: [email protected]
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