The Use of Konjac Glucomannan Hydrolysates (GMH) to Improve the Health of the Skin and Reduce Acne Vulgaris

Gluco mannan hydrolysates (GM H) have been shown to have positive prebiotic properties and when ingested have been shown to have a positive but indirect impact on the skin. However, d irect in vivo topical benefits have not been established. The aim of this work was to establish how effective GMH is with respect to improving skin health especially the reduction of infection due to acne vulgaris.Twenty six female volunteers aged between 18 to 39 years with active lesions of acne vulgaris were included in this study. Patients were assigned randomly into two groups to receive either a standard treatment or a spray formu lation containing GMH at a concentration of 5% (w/v). Before and during treat ment, the skin was evaluated according to the acne severity index (A SI). The results showed that there was a significant (P< 0.001) imp rovement of the skin health at the second (20 days) and third clinical evaluation (40 days) for established (e.g. antibiotics) and GM H treatments. Overall these data indicate that the GM H could be used as a prophylactic or novel topical therapeutic product for acne vulgaris and to imp rove skin health more generally.