Oral administration of large-leaf yellow tea protein-derived oligopeptides alleviates UV-induced skin photoaging through the inhibition of MAPK/AP-1/MMP9 signaling pathway

Large-leaf yellow tea protein-derived oligopeptides (TPP) contain a substantial number of antioxidant peptides that facilitate skin damage repair and may be employed to mitigate skin photoaging. However, the potential alleviating mechanism by which TPP alleviates skin photoaging damage remains insufficiently understood. This study investigated the in vitro antioxidant capacity and cell migration-promoting ability of TPP. Additionally, it utilized ultraviolet (UV)-exposed and intrinsically aged ICR mice, which exhibit signs of skin aging, to assess the effects of an 8-week oral TPP intervention. The findings indicate that TPP exhibits potent free radical scavenging properties, which mitigate oxidative damage in Raw264.7 cells and promote the migration of NIH/3 T3 cells. TPP intervention significantly ameliorates oxidative stress and skin inflammation symptoms in UV-induced skin photoaging damage by restoring the activity of endogenous antioxidant enzymes and suppressing the mRNA expression of pro-inflammatory cytokines, including IL-1β , IL-6 , and TNF-α ., as well as inhibiting the MAPK/AP-1/MMP9 signaling pathways. This study proposes that TPP is a viable plant protein-derived nutritional supplement for the prevention of UV-induced skin photoaging damage.