Evaluation of the transepidermal penetration of a carnosine complex in gel formulation by 3D skin models
Laboratory studyHumansTopicalWith carnosine-magnesium sulphate complex compared with free carnosine and magnesium alone
This study tested carnosine together with carnosine-magnesium sulphate complex compared with free carnosine and magnesium alone. Its results cannot be assigned to carnosine alone. More combination studies.
- Design
- Laboratory study
- Subjects
- EpiDerm reconstructed human epidermis; 3 tissue sets per group, assayed in triplicate
- Dose used in the study
- 10 microlitres of gel: 1.50% L-carnosine with 1.64% magnesium salt (A); 1.50% free carnosine (B); 1.64% magnesium salt (C)
- Duration
- single application for 24 hours, or repeat application at 24 hours for 48 hours total
- What was measured
- Carnosine by competitive ELISA in the culture medium below the tissue and in tissue homogenate at 24 and 48 hours; detection limit 8.438 ng/mL.
What the authors reported
The authors report medium carnosine at 24 hours of 19.3 plus or minus 3.4 ng/mL for the complex, 12.9 plus or minus 1.6 for free carnosine, 7.1 plus or minus 1.7 for magnesium alone and 6.2 plus or minus 3.8 for control. Complex versus control P=0.028; complex versus free carnosine P=0.043. In tissue at 24 hours the complex was lower than control (65.9 versus 107.8 ng/mL, P=0.019) and lower than free carnosine (P=0.004). At 48 hours all groups were equivalent to control. The authors describe the work as preliminary.
Limits of this study
In vitro epidermis model, not skin with dermis or circulation, and not a living animal. Three replicates per group. Carnosine amounts in the medium are in the tens of ng/mL. The proposed magnesium transport mechanism was not tested. This is the skin-penetration paper cited by LactiGo and The Carnosine Lab.
Source
Entry checked against full text (MDPI journal site) on 2026-10-11. The dose shown is the dose the researchers used. It is not a recommendation. How to read this page.