In vitro evaluation of the safety and efficacy of a rosemary-based nutraceutical for the skin of dogs

Abstract

The skin is the main barrier against friction, pathogens, excessive loss of water and also has an important role in thermoregulation and receptors that allow the perception of pain, touch, temperature and pressure. The nutrients present in food are extremely necessary for the maintenance of healthy of skin and hair, however, in most diets these nutrients are not enough, so supplementation with nutraceuticals becomes important. Nutraceuticals that contain natural ingredients in their formulation are increasing in the market, as is the case of the product analyzed in the present study, which contains rosemary, pumpkin seed, omega 3 and caviar phospholipids in its formulation. The objective of the present experiment was to evaluate the in vitro action of a nutraceutical for skin (DERM) on mesenchymal stem cells regarding the alteration in the production of IL-6 and IL-10 cytokines and the safety of the product in relation to the possibility of causing mutations in cells of animals that consume it. The pro-inflammatory cytokine IL-6 decreased (P<0.05) and the anti-inflammatory cytokine IL-10 increased (P<0.05) in the cell supernatant compared to the control when the product was added to the culture medium. The evaluation of cell viability of mesenchymal stem cells by the MTT assay showed that the cells had greater mitochondrial activity with the presence of the product. The safety tests involved mutagenicity analyzes by evaluating the potential of the product to reverse the mutation present in specific bacteria (Ames Test) and analysis of the product's ability to interact with the DNA of cells and cause damage to them (in vitro micronucleous). The results showed that DERM did not cause reversion of the bacterial mutation, since the mutagenicity index (MI) in all strains had a value below 2. In the in vitro micronucleus test, the frequency of appearance of micronuclei was low, not being different from the control group (P>0.05), indicating that there is no interaction of the product with the DNA capable of causing mutation damage. In conclusion, DERM reduced the inflammatory process, being a safe product for the animals that consume it.