Skin aging appears to be principally attributed to a decrease in type I collagen level and the regeneration ability of dermal fibroblasts.

Korean researcher hypothesized that vegetable peptones promote cell proliferation and production of type I collagen in human dermal fibroblasts. Therefore, they investigated the effects of vegetable peptones on cell proliferation and type I collagen production and their possible mechanisms in human dermal fibroblasts. These new findings were published in Nutrition Research journal.

Vegetable peptones significantly promoted cell proliferation in a concentration-dependent manner. In addition, the human luciferase type I collagen α2 (COL1A2) promoter and type I procollagen synthesis assays showed that the vegetable peptones induced type I procollagen production by activating the COL1A2 promoter. Additionally, the vegetable peptones activated p90 ribosomal s6 kinase (RSK), which was mediated by activating the Raf-p44/42 MAPK (ERK) signaling pathway. In addition, the vegetable peptone-induced increase in cell proliferation and type I collagen production decreased upon treatment with the ERK inhibitor PD98059. Taken together, these findings suggest that increased proliferation of human dermal fibroblasts and enhanced production of type I collagen by vegetable peptones occur primarily by inducing the RSK-CCAAT/enhancer binding protein-β phosphorylation pathway, which is mediated by activating Raf-ERK signaling.