Trifluorometyl Phenethyl Mesalazine (TFM) Acts as an Antioxidant and Improves Facial Skin Wrinkles and Whitening

Round 1

Reviewer 1 Report

Comments and Suggestions for Authors

Revision Report of Article “Trifluorometylphenetyl mesalazine (TFM) acts as an antioxidant and improves facial skin wrinkles 2 and whitening”

The article is very interesting and suits for publication in this journal. However, there are some flaws which should be corrected before acceptance.

The results should be discussed in the abstract. The abstract is like conclusion. It should be revised.

In the title it is as “Trifluorometylphenetyl mesalazine” and it in abstract it is as “Trifluorometyl phenetyl mesalazine” There should be uniformity in the text. And in all places, you have mentioned only abbreviations of the compound. Write the compound name in the firs place in each section; introduction, methodology and results & discussion.

There is no conclusion part. It should be provided.

Comments on the Quality of English Language

Minor editing

Author Response

Thank you very much for taking the time to review this manuscript.

Comments 1: The results should be discussed in the abstract. The abstract is like conclusion. It should be revised.

Response 1: We have revised the abstract in the manuscript, according to the point of this Reviewer (page 1, line 12-19).

 

Comments 2: In the title it is as “Trifluorometylphenetyl mesalazine” and it in abstract it is as “Trifluorometyl phenetyl mesalazine” There should be uniformity in the text. And in all places, you have mentioned only abbreviations of the compound. Write the compound name in the firs place in each section; introduction, methodology and results & discussion.

Response 2: We have changed the texts in the revised manuscript, as pointed by this Reviewer (page 1, line 2).

 

Comments 3: There is no conclusion part. It should be provided.

Response 3: The conclusion section has been added in the revised manuscript, as pointed by this Reviewer (page 12, line 349-356).

Reviewer 2 Report

Comments and Suggestions for Authors

I have reviewed an article titled “Trifluorometylphenetyl mesalazine (TFM) acts as an antioxidant and improves facial skin wrinkles 2 and whitening” authored by Sojung Won et. al. I have the following observations.

 

1. The authors have not mentioned the novelty of their work in the abstract.

 

2. The study has not been designed well. The sample size is also small. After some initial experiments, they have undergone clinical studies directly without performing biocompatibility tests using in vitro techniques e.g. Cell Viability and Skin Irritation Tests.

 

3. A collagen synthesis test must be performed before claiming antiaging effects.

 

 

In my opinion, this manuscript cannot be considered in this reputed journal for publication.

 

Comments on the Quality of English Language

 Moderate editing of the English language required

Author Response

Thank you very much for taking the time to review this manuscript.

Comments 1: The authors have not mentioned the novelty of their work in the abstract.

Response 1: We have revised the abstract in the manuscript, according to the point of this Reviewer (page 1, line 12-19).

 

Comments 2: The study has not been designed well. The sample size is also small. After some initial experiments, they have undergone clinical studies directly without performing biocompatibility tests using in vitro techniques e.g. Cell Viability and Skin Irritation Tests.

Response 2: Prior to conducting our clinical studies, we had performed a skin irritation test in humans as well as in vitro cell viability test using human dermal fibroblasts. In a clinical skin irritation test, TFM did not cause any irritation to the test subjects. Additionally, none of the test participants showed erythema, edema, or papules on their skin following TFM treatment. In in vitro cell viability experiments, TFM did not show a harmful effect on cell viability. We now include those results in the revised manuscript (clinical skin irritation test: page 10, line 279; in vitro cell viability data: Figure S2).

 

Comments 3: A collagen synthesis test must be performed before claiming antiaging effects.

Response 3: As suggested by this Reviewer, we performed the experiments to assess procollagen production in normal human dermal fibroblasts. Our data indicated that TFM did not affect the production of procollagen in the cells under basal conditions. We have included these data in Figure S1 in the revised manuscript. Taken together with Figure S1 and Figure 3, our results suggest that while TFM does not modulate the synthesis of procollagen in cells under basal conditions, it does negatively regulate the UV-induced production of MMP-1, a major enzyme responsible for collagen breakdown, in UV-exposed cells.

Reviewer 3 Report

Comments and Suggestions for Authors

Graet article.

I've got only some questions.

Table 1. Effect of TFM on skin wrinkle changes

Is there a difference statistically significant between treated and untreated group?

Could you show other figures? The presented womed has hyperpigmentation more visible before study on the untreted part of face.

 

There are in the literature some articles abaut side-effects after mesalazine - could you add more informantion about safety of your product?

Author Response

Thank you very much for taking the time to review this manuscript.

Comments 1: Is there a difference statistically significant between treated and untreated group?

Response 1: There is a statistically significant difference in all R1-R5 parameters at the 8-week time-point. The statistical significance is indicated in Table 1 of the revised manuscript (page 7, line 238).

 

Comments 2: Could you show other figures? The presented women have hyperpigmentation more visible before study on the untreated part of face.

 Response 2: According to the helpful comments of this Reviewer, we have replaced the pictures in Figure 5 in the revised manuscript (page 8, line 243).

 

Comments 3: There are in the literature some articles about side-effects after mesalazine - could you add more information about safety of your product?

Response 3: Regarding to the safety of TFM, it was previously reported that oral administration of TMF in rat animal studies did not cause the gastric damage, including gastric bleeding (J Neurochem 122:952, 2012). Gastrointestinal damages are the most reported side effects of mesalazine (xPharm: The Comprehensive Pharmacology Reference, 1-6, 2009). We have included the information about safety of TFM in the revised manuscript (page 10, line 279-285 & page 11, line 323-326).

Round 2

Reviewer 2 Report

Comments and Suggestions for Authors

The authors had made substantial corrections. The manuscript can be accepted for publication.

Comments on the Quality of English Language

The authors had made substantial corrections. The manuscript can be accepted for publication.