ORIGINAL RESEARCH article
Front. Med.
Sec. Dermatology
Volume 12 - 2025 | doi: 10.3389/fmed.2025.1684399
Integrative Analysis by Targeted Metabolomics Revealed the Regulatory Function of Donkey Oil on Skin Metabolites
Provisionally accepted
- 1Dong-E E-Jiao Co. Ltd, Liaocheng, Shandong, China, Liaocheng, China
- 2Tianjin Key Laboratory of Food Biotechnology, School of Biotechnology and Food Science, Tianjin University of Commerce, Tianjin, China, Tianjin, China
- 3Chinese Academy of Inspection & Quarantine Greater Bay Area, Zhongshan, Guangdong, Zhongshan, China
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Background: Donkey oil, an edible oil rich in unsaturated fatty acids and vitamin E, has the potential to become the multifunctional ingredient for skincare. However, its molecular mechanisms in maintaining skin health remain unknown. Methods: In this study, 64 volunteers were divided into two groups with healthy and inflammatory skin and applied donkey oil for 28 days. Then, we measured the targeted metabolites, including 65 kinds of organic acids, 94 kinds of amino acids and 48 kinds of free fatty acids and its derivates of the skin by comparative metabolomics analysis of in two groups to assess changes in, and before and after application. Results: We found differential levels of 7 (3 upregulated and 4 down regulated) organic acids inner healthy skin group, 6 (2 upregulated and 4 down regulated) organic acids inner inflammatory skin group, and 1 shared organic acid (4-hydroxyphenylacetic acid) in response to donkey oil after 28 days. To the aspect of amino acids and its derivates and free fatty acid, 10 (1 upregulated and 9 down regulated) and 7 (2 upregulated and 5 down regulated) inner healthy and inflammatory skin group respectively, and 3 shared amino acids and its derivates (5-hydroxytryptamine, tryptophan and 5-aminovaleric acid ), 10 (8 upregulated and 2 down regulated) and 7 (1 upregulated and 6 down regulated) inner healthy and inflammatory skin group respectively, and 6 shared free fatty acids were regulated by donkey oil. Conclusion: By metabolite functional annotation, donkey oil might modulate the changes of 4-hydroxyphenylacetic acid, 5-hydroxytryptamine, tryptophan, 5-aminovaleric acid, decanoic acid, octanoic acid, cis-11,14,17-eicosatrienoic acid, myristic acid, tridecanoic acid, and pentadecanoic acid, which mainly enriched in aromatic amino acids metabolism and fatty acid biosynthesis metabolism to facilitate skin homeostasis maintenance.
Keywords: Donkey oil, Targeted metabolomics, skin metabolites, skin homeostasis, regulatory function
Received: 12 Aug 2025; Accepted: 02 Sep 2025.
Copyright: © 2025 Li, Sun, Liu, Chen, Wu, Tie and Wang. This is an open-access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License (CC BY). The use, distribution or reproduction in other forums is permitted, provided the original author(s) or licensor are credited and that the original publication in this journal is cited, in accordance with accepted academic practice. No use, distribution or reproduction is permitted which does not comply with these terms.
* Correspondence:
Hang Tie, Chinese Academy of Inspection & Quarantine Greater Bay Area, Zhongshan, Guangdong, Zhongshan, China
Cong Wang, Chinese Academy of Inspection & Quarantine Greater Bay Area, Zhongshan, Guangdong, Zhongshan, China
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