THE EFFECT OF NANOENCAPSULATED CENTELLA ASIATICA L AND ZINGIBER OFFICINALE ROSC. VAR. RUBRUM COMBINATION TO PROMOTECOLLAGEN SYNTHESIS AND DECREASE THE DIAMETER OF ADIPOCYTE CELLS IN FEMALE WISTAR RATS

Cellulite is a normal condition judging from the medical aspect, but from aesthetics aspect, cellulite deserves more attention, especially for women. Centella asiatica is reported to promote both fibronectin and collagen synthesis. Meanwhile, Zingiber officinale is reported to have lipolysis activity. Combination of the two herbals is assumed to have complementary effect as anti cellulite agents. The combination of the herbal extracts is prepared in nanoemulsion form to enhance the bioavailability. The study aimed to determine the effect of nano emulsion of C. asiatica and Z. officinale combination (proportion of 5:1) to stimulate skin collagen synthesis and decrease the diameter of adipocyte cells using histological parameters as an indicator of lipolysis activity. Twenty female Wistar rats weighing 120-140 g were fed a high-fat diet for 30 days. The animals were divided into 4 groups, with the 3 groups received the nanoemulsion of herbal combination with the dose of 50, 100, and 200 mg/kg BW for 30 days, and 1 group received CMC Na 0, 5% as negative control. On the day 31, rats were sacrified and skin samples of 1.0 cm², including fatty tissue, were obtained from the subjects.  One part of the tissue sample was used for collagen assay, while another was used for hematoxylin-eosin staining. The amount of collagen in skin tissue was assayed using Sirius Red Collagen Detection Kit (Chondrex). The collagen thickness was also measured histologically using Sirius red staining. The diameter of adipocyte cells were measured under light microscope to represent lipolysis activity. Results showed that the amount of skin collagen was increased with the increase of extract doses, however the lowest dose showed no significant different with the normal animal. The diameter of adipocyte cells was also decreased in dose-dependent manner. Results indicate that the combination of C. asiatica and Z. officinale can be developed as herbal medicine for anti cellulite agent