Efficacy and safety of oral palmitoleic acid supplementation for skin barrier improvement: A 12-week, randomized, double-blinded, placebo-controlled study

BACKGROUND: Palmitoleic acid (omega-7) has been reported to be effective primarily for metabolic disorders. Recently, it has been reported to help improve quality of life (QoL) by improving skin symptoms. OBJECTIVE: The aim of this randomized, double-blinded, placebo-controlled clinical study is to evaluate the efficacy and safety of oral palmitoleic acid in improving skin barrier, elasticity, and wrinkle formation in adult women. METHODS: In this randomized, double-blind, placebo-controlled clinical study, 90 healthy participants were enrolled and received 500 mg/day palmitoleic acid (intervention) or corn oil without palmitoleic acid (control) for 12 weeks. Skin hydration and transepidermal water loss and skin elasticity, surface roughness, eye wrinkle volume, and wrinkle severity were measured at 6-week intervals to assess the skin barrier function and efficacy in wrinkle improvement, respectively. RESULTS: After 12 weeks, skin hydration and transepidermal water loss significantly improved in the intervention group compared to the control group. Skin elasticity, surface roughness, eye wrinkle volume, wrinkle severity, and participant-assessed clinical improvement score did not significantly improve compared with the control group. CONCLUSION: Oral palmitoleic acid effectively improves the skin barrier function improvement, which may enhance QoL in aging adults.