Agaric extract and colloidal silver promote skin health and wound repair

Agaric extract and colloidal silver for wound healing

Abstract

Group D vitamins are a family of micronutrients essential for the health of numerous organs and systems. The members of the group come from different sources. In particular, ergocalciferol (vitamin D2) is formed in some plants but predominantly in fungi by UV irradiation. Differently, cholecalciferol (vitamin D3) is synthesized in the skin of animals by UV irradiation of 7-dehydrocholesterol. As a consequence, humans synthesize vitamin D3 and introduce the same vitamin with foods of animal origin and vitamin D2 with foods of plant origin. The prehormonal forms, cholecalciferol and ergocholecalciferol, are converted to active compounds via a 2-step enzymatic dihydroxylation in the liver and kidney to synthesize the active form of vitamin D, calcitriol. It has recently been demonstrated that the skin possesses the hydroxylases responsible for activating vitamin D directly in the keratinocytes. We have previously demonstrated the effect of vitamin D3 combined with silver nanoparticles in wound healing in vitro. The aim of the present work was to establish whether vitamin D2 could have a similar effect to vitamin D3. Therefore, we used the same combination of vitamin D+ silver nanoparticles by substituting vitamin D 3 for vitamin D2. We demonstrated that the effect of vitamin D2 on wound repair is very similar to vitamin D3. Indeed vitamin D2 induces an even stronger effect suggesting the possible future use of the combination vitamin D2 + silver nanoparticles for the repair of skin damage,  not only repair of wounds,  such as atopic dermatitis, iirritative pathologies such as diaper area dermatitis, actinic dermatitis, minor burns, folliculitis, and other skin wounds such as umbilical stump care. Possible applications were discussed.