The eternal pursuit to prevent ageing and maintain a youthful appearance has resulted in a rapidly expanding cosmeceutical industry. Cosmeceutical products, particularly of natural origin, are in high demand due to claims of efficacy for signs of ageing and other skin conditions. Consumers often include cosmeceutical products in their skin care regime as they are readily available, and a more affordable option compared to prescription products. However, many cosmeceutical ingredients lack clinical evidence regarding their efficacy and safety as these products are not regulated by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration. This review provides a brief overview of several popular cosmeceutical ingredients with regards to their potential indications, targets and mechanisms of action.

Malaria control relies heavily on the small number of existing antimalarial drugs. However, recurring antimalarial drug resistance necessitates the continual generation of new antimalarial drugs with novel modes of action. In order to shift the focus from only controlling this disease towards elimination and eradication, next-generation antimalarial agents need to address the gaps in the malaria drug arsenal. This includes developing drugs for chemoprotection, treating severe malaria and blocking transmission. Plasmodial kinases are promising targets for next-generation antimalarial drug development as they mediate critical cellular processes and some are active across multiple stages of the parasite’s life cycle. This review gives an update on the progress made thus far with regards to plasmodial kinase small-molecule inhibitor development.

The tyrosinase (TYR) enzyme catalyses sequential reactions in the melanogenesis pathway: l-tyrosine is oxidised to yield L-3,4-dihydroxyphenylalanine (l-dopa), which in turn is converted to dopaquinone. These two reactions are the first two steps of melanin biosynthesis and are rate limiting. The accumulation or overproduction of melanin may cause skin hyperpigmentation and inhibitors of TYR are thus of interest to the cosmeceutical industry. Several TYR inhibitors are used to treat skin hyperpigmentation, however, some are ineffective and possess questionable safety profiles. This emphasises the need to develop novel TYR inhibitors with better safety and efficacy profiles. The small molecule, 3-hydroxycoumarin, has been reported to be a good potency TYR inhibitor (IC₅₀ = 2.49 µM), and based on this, a series of eight structurally related 3-hydroxyquinolin-2(1H)-one derivatives were synthesised with the aim to discover novel TYR inhibitors. The results showed that four of the derivatives inhibited TYR from the champignon mushroom Agaricus bisporus (abTYR) with IC₅₀ < 6.11 µM. The most potent inhibitor displayed an IC₅₀ value of 2.52 μM. Under the same conditions, the reference inhibitors, thiamidol and kojic acid, inhibited abTYR with IC₅₀ values of 0.130 and 26.4 μM, respectively. Based on the small molecular structures of the active 3-hydroxyquinolin-2(1H)-one inhibitors which are amenable to structure optimisation, it may be concluded that this class of compounds are good leads for the design of TYR inhibitors for cosmeceutical applications.

Background: Aberrant tissue repair can result in the formation of chronic wounds and pathological scarring, which can severely impact a patient’s quality of life. Due to their complexity, treatment of these conditions remains challenging. Purpose: This review article provides a brief overview of the various treatments with regards to application, possible mechanism(s) of action, new developments, and areas requiring further research. Methods: A literature review on the different therapies/products currently used for chronic wounds and pathological scars was conducted. Several databases—including PubMed, ScienceDirect, Web of Science, and Google Scholar—were searched to find relevant articles on this topic. Results: Numerous products and treatment options, including several promising new technologies, are currently available. These therapies/products aim to accelerate wound healing, reduce scarring, and ultimately reach the goal of scarless tissue regeneration. Conclusion: Currently, no gold standard therapy exists for chronic wounds and pathological scars. Existing treatments demonstrate varying levels of efficacy, and further research is required regarding their safety and molecular mechanism(s) of action.

The phospholipase A ₂ (PLA ₂ ) enzyme family plays a crucial role in the production of bioactive lipids that are involved in maintaining the epidermal barrier function and regulating inflammation and immune responses in the skin. Therefore, aberrant PLA ₂ expression and activity have been implicated in various skin diseases including psoriasis. This review article highlights the potential pathophysiological roles of several secreted and cytosolic PLA ₂ s (sPLA ₂ and cPLA ₂ ) in psoriasis, based on in vitro and in vivo evidence. Based on the available evidence, the PLA ₂ enzymes demonstrate diverse roles in psoriatic skin, with several PLA ₂ s (e.g., group IIF sPLA ₂ and cPLA ₂ α) promoting inflammation and aberrant keratinocyte activation and proliferation, while other PLA ₂ s (e.g., group IID sPLA ₂ and cPLA ₂ ε) exhibit anti‐inflammatory or proresolving functions. Thus, targeting specific PLA ₂ s for the treatment of psoriasis offers a novel approach beyond conventional immunomodulatory therapies. Although clinical translation of systemic PLA ₂ inhibitors has been challenging and unsuccessful thus far, topical PLA ₂ inhibitors have demonstrated some potential in the treatment of inflammatory skin diseases. Therefore, continued research on the development of topical PLA ₂ inhibitors is needed to provide novel and effective treatment options for psoriasis.