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Hsian-tsao, a safe, heat-resistant ingredient that can be eaten and applied, and its extract products were examined for their potential applicability as a countermeasure for problems that may arise in the skin due to global warming. This includes being flexible and responsive to changes in consumer demand due to global warming.
- global warming
- Hsian-tsao
- heat resistance
- skin health
1. Changes in Consumer Needs Due to Accelerating Global Warming
Environmental degradation is one of the most serious problems affecting our lives and those of future generations. Today, environmental destruction and sustainability are emerging as the most urgent issues, and green industries are at the center of these issues. Accordingly, awareness of all issues related to a greener environment will continue to rise, and it has been confirmed that individuals cite environmental issues as a major issue [16,17,51]. In short, people all over the world are taking environmental destruction very seriously. As a result of this phenomenon, awareness of green industries is emerging, and consumption patterns are changing [14,52]. People are becoming increasingly more environmentally conscious [17], so the seriousness of environmental problems is being confirmed. As consumers recognize the seriousness of environmental problems, industry is changing as well. There are more and more companies practicing green-environment and green-industry-friendly practices, which, indeed, have become a requirement. The increase in these practices is believed to be due to an increased desire to find and purchase services and products from these companies [16,53]. Therefore, concern for the environment has become a major consideration in individual consumption decisions [51,54,55,56,57,58].
Concerns about the global environment due to global warming are a serious reality. Global warming is related to greenhouse gases generated by the increase in industrial activities necessary for modern life. For this reason, strategies are needed to control these unwanted developments. This situation has a tremendous impact on contemporary life and will bring about change. However, the actual cause of this problem may not be resolved; therefore, countermeasures are needed. Accordingly, this change in consumer awareness emphasizes safer edible products and sustainable safety that are mindful of the environment and the earth [12,59]. One study assessing the public knowledge and potential health impacts of global warming in Ghana surveyed Ghanaian adults (N = 1130) from 1 November 2018, to 28 February 2019, and found a consistent result that approximately 84.4% of the respondents understood the meaning of global warming. The causes of global warming, as recognized by the respondents, were as follows: a natural process, deforestation, God’s will, and fossil fuel burning and CO2. Furthermore, 83.4% of respondents answered that global warming affects human health, while only 8.5% said that it does not. Approximately 78.6% answered that they support efforts to reduce the intensity of global warming. These results confirm useful insights for policy direction. Accordingly, communication strategies to increase and maintain public awareness and the education of citizens on global warming are needed [60]. Various ongoing studies have shown that global warming has serious negative impacts on human health and poses a significant risk worldwide. CO2-responsible heavy greenhouse gas emissions and energy consumption from fossil fuels can cause fatal problems for humans. To this point, most Americans report a general awareness that global warming may be harmful to health. However, relatively few people understand what kind of damage global warming could cause or who is most likely to be affected [61,62,63,64,65].
Specifically, an increase in temperature due to global warming causes disturbances of skin microorganisms, including conditions such as atopic dermatitis, acne vulgaris, and psoriasis. High temperatures are also associated with the exacerbation of skin diseases and increased risk of heat stroke. They also act on abnormal weather phenomena caused by climate change, such as floods and forest fires. These events have been associated with acute exacerbation of skin injuries, skin infections, and inflammatory skin diseases [4]. In addition, since the outbreak of COVID-19, various studies have been conducted on skin health to promote health, healthy eating habits, and sustainable safety [10,11,12].
2. Consumer Desire for Safe Ingredients and Skin Health
Global warming is caused by the greenhouse effect that includes high levels of atmospheric gases, particularly CO2 and methane. This situation directly threatens human health and survival. In particular, the ability to withstand extreme heat varies from person to person. As human skin is an organ responsible for heat dissipation, dermatologists must have a clear understanding of the physiology of skin heat dissipation [66], as the thermoregulatory response of the skin may be impaired. To explain, when the external temperature is lower than that of the skin, the skin releases internal heat through direct heat exchange with the environment. This process is aided by the expansion of skin blood flow and eccrine perspiration. In this process, cooling through sweat evaporation is relevant even when the external temperature exceeds the skin temperature, which affects the ability of the skin to regulate body temperature. Therefore, heat-related morbidity increases, and fever also increases mortality. Identifying these conditions on an individual basis will become increasingly important in the skin care of patients. As awareness of environmental issues has increased, recent research has shown that consumers are increasingly demanding eco-friendly transportation innovations. As such, consumer behavior research cannot be mentioned except for green innovation. Further, as the importance of consumer innovativeness (CI) and green awareness in green consumption is increasingly emphasized in this regard, several studies on environmentally friendly behavior have investigated the attitude–behavior relationship of consumers [37,67].
Specifically, consumers are paying more attention to the ingredients in food and beauty products to make healthier eating decisions. They are also focusing on the health and safety of their purchasing decisions as well as their environmental impact. Consumers are also increasingly thinking about the environment because of the changes in daily life caused by COVID-19 and environmental changes following the spread of live commerce. As a result, new changes are taking place in the beauty and cosmetics market. Recently, consumers have clearly expressed their need for vegan cosmetics, which include good ingredients and cosmetics, as environmental problems grow, which emphasizes the need for consumers in the beauty and cosmetics industry to pursue good consumption in consideration of the global COVID-19 pandemic [9,10,11,12,13].
3. Healing Properties of Hsian-Tsao in Response to Heat-Induced Skin Damage
Global warming has led the scientific community to consider ways to mitigate heat stress in humans and animals. Heat resistance refers to the ability to withstand high temperatures without deformation or deterioration and involves, for example, the function and shape of a material. In one study, changes in heat stress in Drosophila melanogaster were evaluated using Hsian-tsao extract (HTE) [33,69,70], and the physiological and molecular mechanisms were described. It was confirmed that the killing time for 50% of female flies that were fed HTE was much longer than that of male flies at the same heat-stress temperature and that the survival time of females under high-temperature stress was significantly higher in the HTE-fed group compared with the non-HTE-fed group. It was also found that when acutely exposed to 36° for 30 min every day, heat curing greatly extended the lifespan of females. In addition, without heat curing, HTE increased the antioxidant capacity of females under heat stress as well as catalase (CAT) activity, which was associated with the hydroxyl radical (OH−) and superoxide anion (O2−). Superoxide dismutase (SOD) activity and the inhibition of·O2− were significantly affected by heat curing in the group that was not fed HTE. CAT and SOD activity and the inhibition of O2− were also affected by heat curing. It was also confirmed that after heat exposure, heat shock protein 70 (Hsp70) was upregulated only in the group with high levels of HTE compared with the group that had not been fed HTE [33].
In addition, one study that evaluated the effect of Hsian-tsao (Mesona procumbens Hemsl.) and its polysaccharides on damaged wound healing in diabetes found that the crude polysaccharide of the water extract (WEP) exerted a strong inhibitory effect on methylglyoxal (MG)-induced glycosylation and reactive oxygen species (ROS) production. In addition, EE and WEP reduced MG-induced inflammation-related factors in RAW 264.7 macrophages, higher MG-damaged wound-healing factors in 3T3-L1 fibroblasts, and EE and WEP enhanced phagocytosis impaired by MG in Staphylococcus aureus and Pseudomonas aeruginosa in a dose-dependent manner. However, the primary finding was that EE and WEP exerted tissue-inhibitory regulation of macrophage inflammatory protein-2 (MIP-2), metalloproteinase-9 (MMP-9), and metalloproteinase-1 (TIMP-1) protein expression; accordingly, the wound healing of the skin was also greatly improved. Therefore, Hsian-tsao extract and its polysaccharide were found to have potential as an alternative natural therapy to promote wound healing in diabetic patients [34].
Studies on global warming have shown that it is caused by extreme temperatures and other stresses. This suggests that Hsps are important components of an organism’s resistance mechanism. These proteins function as molecular chaperones that support the maintenance of cellular protein structures. Members of the Hsp70 family mitigate cellular damage in D. melanogaster under heat stress [71]; this fact has been recognized for more than two centuries. It has also been shown that high levels of Hsp70 in Drosophila are due to high levels of thermotolerance. In addition to Hsp70, heat stress increases lipid oxidation, which enhances ROS and induces oxidative stress within cells. Antioxidant enzymes, including CAT and SOD, are important in protecting cells from the harmful effects of ROS. The synthesis of these enzymes may also be an important regulator of an animal’s stress response, which is an endogenous oxidative defense system. Overexpression of SOD and CAT genes increases the lifespan of D. Therefore, the induction of Hsp70 and the production of antioxidant enzymes have been summarized as potential regulatory factors that improve heat resistance under heat stress [72].
4. Inner Beauty and Cosmetic Applicability of Hsian-Tsao Extract
Around the world, nutrition has been used to enhance youth and beauty. Recently, the link between nutrition and skin aging has become an area of interest. Accordingly, consumers have recently judged that beauty and health are related, consider nutrition important for skin beauty and aging, and use various inner beauty products. To this point, the superoxide radical scavenging effect and Fe2+ chelating ability of Hsian-tsao (Mesona chinensis Benth.) extract were found to be superior to those of alpha-tocopherol and BHT. Hsian-tsao leaf black chelated Fe2+ and scavenged alpha, alpha-diphenyl-beta-picrylhydrazyl (DPPH) radicals. Comparisons were made with commercially available antioxidants, and Hsian-tsao leaf gum showed a lesser scavenging effect on DPPH radicals and reduced power. In addition, the protective effect of Hsian-tsao water extract (WEHT) against DNA damage in human lymphocytes was evaluated using single-cell electrophoresis (comet assay) induced with UV-C and/or H2O2, and no toxicity of WEHT to human lymphocytes was found. Additionally, WEHT did not cause DNA damage at low concentrations of 0.05 and 0.1 mg/mL. However, it was found to cause slight DNA damage at concentrations of 0.5–2.5 mg/mL compared with the control group. WEHT was also mixed with H2O2 for reaction and exerted a slight inhibitory effect on DNA damage induced by H2O2. WEHT and lymphocytes were irradiated with UV-C and incubated for 35 min. Accordingly, the concentration of WEHT increased, and DNA damage decreased. Therefore, it can be confirmed that WEHT can reduce DNA damage caused by UV-C. In addition, WEHT had a more protective effect against UV-C than DNA damage caused by H2O2. Thus, the protective effect of WEHT against DNA damage was confirmed. This may be because polyphenolic compounds contain other active ingredients [18]. Inner beauty and heat-resistant plants that can be applied cosmetically are also being studied in various ways.
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