Beneficial Effect of Heat-Killed Lactiplantibacillus plantarum L-137 on Skin Functions in Healthy Participants: A Randomized, Placebo-Controlled, Double-Blind Study
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To determine whether consuming heat-killed Lactiplantibacillus plantarum L-137 (HK L-137) influences skin functions, we performed a randomized, placebo-controlled, double-blind study in healthy participants who were conscious of dry skin. A total of 80 healthy participants (20 men, 60 women; mean age, 47.3 years) were assigned to receive a tablet containing HK L-137 or a placebo tablet daily for 12 weeks. Every 4 weeks, the skin water content and transepidermal water loss (TEWL) were measured at the forearm and face, and participants completed two skin-related questionnaires, the Dermatology Life Quality Index and a self-evaluation. The HK L-137 group tended to show greater increases from baseline of water content at the forearm and larger decreases of TEWL at the face. The total scores of both questionnaires improved significantly more in the HK L-137 group. Water content and TEWL improved significantly in participants in the HK L-137 group who were above the median age of study participants or had relatively dry skin. These findings suggest that daily HK L-137 intake can improve dry skin, thereby contributing to skin satisfaction.
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Heat-killed L. plantarum L-137 improved skin hydration and barrier function in a randomized, placebo-controlled clinical study.
“Furthermore, heat-killed L. plantarum L-137 improved skin hydration and barrier function in a randomized, placebo-controlled clinical study [21].”
From Anti-Photoaging and Anti-Melanogenic Effects of a Novel <i>Lactiplantibacillus plantarum</i> RKBP Isolated from Giant <i>Centella asiatica</i> (2026) · cites this paper as [21]
The Results section reports trends toward greater forearm water content and lower facial transepidermal water loss in the HK L-137 group, rather than conclusive improvements in the full study group. Both measures improved significantly in certain subgroups, so the unqualified claim overstates the overall finding. Page numbers were not provided in our copy. (LLM, conf=0.88)
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- Authors
- Yoshitake, R., Nakai, H., Ebina, M., Kawasaki, K., Murosaki, S., & Hirose, Y.
- Affiliations
- House Wellness Foods Corporation (Japan) (JP)
- Corresponding author
- Hirose, Yoshitaka
- ORCID
- Nakai, Hiroko
- Venue
- Frontiers in Medicine
- Publisher
- Frontiers Media SA
- Published
- 2022-07-06
- Volume
- 9
- Pages
- 912280-912280
- ISSN
- 2296-858X (ISSN-L)
- PMC
- PMC9299260
- OpenAlex
- W4286632587
- Cited by
- 10
- References
- 54
- Citations by year
- 2026: 5 · 2025: 2 · 2024: 3
- FWCI
- 0.67
- Type
- journal article
- Language
- en
- Update notices
- corrigendum (2022-10-18)
- Open access
- gold
- doi.org
- Licence
- Locations
- Frontiers in Medicine (publishedVersion, cc-by)
- PubMed Central (publishedVersion, cc-by)
- PubMed (publishedVersion)
- DOAJ (DOAJ: Directory of Open Access Journals) (submittedVersion, cc-by-sa)
- Topics
- Life Sciences › Agricultural and Biological Sciences › Food Science › Probiotics and Fermented Foods
- Health Sciences › Medicine › Dermatology › Dermatology and Skin Diseases
- Health Sciences › Medicine › Dermatology › Skin Protection and Aging
- Keywords
- heat-killed probiotics, dry skin, skin hydration, transepidermal water loss, skin-related quality of life, probiotic supplementation, healthy adults
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