Composition containing laver extract for the improvement, prevention, or treatment of pruritus

Composition for Improving Pruritus by Inhibiting Itch-Mediating Factors Using Laver Extract

This technology is a pharmaceutical, food, and cosmetic composition for the prevention and treatment of pruritus that uses laver extract obtained from water, lower alcohols, or a mixed solvent thereof as an active ingredient to inhibit the expression of itch-related factors such as MDC, TARC, ET-1, and PAR-2.

While the number of patients with pruritus-related conditions is increasing due to urbanization, environmental pollution, dry skin, and house dust mites, controlling the cause of pruritus has been difficult because it is triggered by various mediators and stimuli. There has been a limitation in the availability of safe anti-itch treatment materials suitable for long-term use.

This technology utilizes extract from laver, an edible seaweed, which reduces the expression of itch-inducing genes and proteins in keratinocytes while showing almost no cytotoxicity, making it a safe anti-pruritic material. This material can be applied to treatments for pruritus associated with dermatological and internal diseases, as well as health functional foods and scalp/moisturizing cosmetics, thereby increasing the added value of domestic laver resources in the pharmaceutical and beauty industries.

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Key Features:

• A pharmaceutical composition for the prevention or treatment of pruritus containing, as an active ingredient, laver extract obtained using water, a C1-C4 lower alcohol, or a mixed solvent thereof
• A laver extract composition wherein the mixed solvent is a 20 to 80 wt% aqueous solution of methanol, ethanol, butanol, or propanol
• A composition targeting pruritus induced by the expression of MDC, TARC, ET-1, and PAR-2, or pruritus associated with internal or psychodermatological diseases
• A composition for improving pruritus containing laver extract as an active ingredient, provided in the form of food such as capsules or tablets, or cosmetics such as tonics, shampoos, or creams

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This invention was developed with support from the Ministry of Education’s project for developing blue carbon biomass-based source materials and building a marine resource utilization platform.

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