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Common vegetable oils speed up skin regeneration


In an evolving health landscape, emerging research continues to highlight concerns that could impact everyday wellbeing. Here’s the key update you should know about:

Lab tests uncover which natural oils accelerate skin repair and which slow it down, as well as the surprising fatty acid combinations behind both effects.

Study: Influence of vegetable oils and their constituents on in vitro human keratinocyte and fibroblast proliferation and migration. Image credit: NatalyaBond/Shutterstock.com

Researchers at the University of Ljubljana, Slovenia, investigated the effect of selected vegetable oils and their constituents on skin cell growth and migration. Their study, which is published in Scientific Reports, supports the role of vegetable oils in augmenting skin cell regeneration.

Background

The skin is the largest human organ that acts as a protective barrier against foreign invaders, such as pathogens, chemicals, and radiation. Keratinocytes and fibroblasts are the major skin cell types that play a pivotal role in skin repair and regeneration during the inflammatory phase.

Vegetable oils used in therapeutic and cosmetic products have the potential to treat injured or damaged skin. Triglycerides, including saturated and unsaturated fatty acids, are the major constituents of vegetable oils (99%) and are known to exert a range of beneficial effects, including antimicrobial, anti-inflammatory, antioxidant, and skin-regenerative effects.

Vegetable oils contain a small amount (1%) of unsaponifiable compounds such as phytosterols, phenolic compounds, squalene, carotene, and vitamins, which also exert antimicrobial, antioxidant, and anti-inflammatory effects.

Evidence indicates that microbial lipases in the skin hydrolyze triglycerides to release free fatty acids. While some of these fatty acids, such as linoleic acid, are known to protect skin integrity, others, such as oleic acid, are known for their skin barrier-disruptive effects.

The physiological ratio of oleic acid to linoleic acid in the outermost skin layer is 3:1. Any imbalance or deficiency in the skin’s lipid profile is known to cause excessive dryness or oiliness of the skin with associated skin diseases. However, there is a lack of evidence regarding specific ratios of free fatty acids that would help predict whether a particular vegetable oil will positively or negatively affect skin cells.

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In the current study, researchers investigated the effects of selected vegetable oils and their constituents on the growth and migration of fibroblasts and keratinocytes, focusing on the fatty acid component of triglycerides and unsaponifiable compounds. 

The researchers cultured fibroblasts and keratinocytes in the laboratory and tested the effects of coconut, olive, linden, poppy, pomegranate, marigold, and linseed oils on cell growth and wound healing (cell migration).

Key findings

The study findings revealed that most of the tested vegetable oils mildly but significantly increased the growth of fibroblasts and keratinocytes, except pomegranate seed oil and its major fatty acid (punicic acid), which significantly inhibited skin cell growth. Both coconut and olive oils showed no significant impact on skin cell growth.  

Vegetable oils with a high content of essential fatty acids, including linoleic and α-linolenic acid, had the most pronounced positive effect on cell growth. However, α-linolenic acid showed a biphasic effect, strongly inhibiting proliferation of both keratinocytes and fibroblasts at higher concentrations (0.01 mg/100 µL) and at both 48 and 72 hours, while enhancing growth at lower concentrations (0.005 mg/100 µL) and specific time points.

After 48 or 72 hours, most proliferation-enhancing effects for oils such as poppy, linden, linseed, and marigold were observed at 0.15% or 0.1% concentrations, while lower concentrations (0.01%) generally showed no significant activity.

Individual fatty acids present in vegetable oils showed varied impacts, with some (lauric acid and myristic acid) increasing skin cell growth and some (palmitic acid) consistently inhibiting growth of fibroblasts and keratinocytes at all tested concentrations and both 48 and 72 hours. Given the significance of oleic acid to the linoleic acid ratio in skin health and disease, the study tested the impact of three different ratios (1:3, 1:1, and 3:1) on skin cell growth.

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The findings collectively revealed that the ratio of these two fatty acids is not crucial in regulating skin cell growth; instead, there appears to be a synergistic interaction between oleic acid and linoleic acid, highlighting the importance of these two components to be simultaneously present in a vegetable oil or a final dermal product. However, at higher concentrations (0.01 mg/100 µL) and after 72 hours, all three ratios significantly inhibited fibroblast growth even as they enhanced keratinocyte proliferation, underscoring cell type- and dose-specific effects.

None of the tested vegetable oils showed any significant positive or negative effects on skin cell migration, and no significant impact on cell morphology was observed. In contrast, sterculic acid and oleic acid caused a significant reduction in skin cell migration. Linoleic acid also caused visible cell clustering and locally increased density without slowing gap closure. This phenomenon, shared with oleic acid and its mixtures, may indicate altered cell organization during healing.

Notably, the study found that oleic acid and linoleic acid individually, or in combination, induced cell cluster formation and increased cell density.

Study significance

The study findings highlight the significance of vegetable oils and their constituents in enhancing skin regeneration and support their application in therapeutic and cosmetic skincare formulations.

According to the findings, the biological activity of these oils primarily depends on their triglyceride fatty acid composition. Complex interactions between these fatty acids influence the impact of vegetable oils on skin cell growth, highlighting the significance of understanding the exact chemical composition of vegetable oils. The study also found that the unsaponifiable fractions of certain oils, such as coconut and olive, could enhance fibroblast or keratinocyte growth at specific doses. In contrast, fractions from linden and marigold sometimes inhibited fibroblast proliferation, underscoring the complexity of these minor components.

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Unsaponifiable compounds, although only ~1% of these oils, also showed complex roles, with some (such as β-carotene and β-sitosterol) promoting keratinocyte proliferation and others (including ferulic acid and squalene) inhibiting fibroblast growth, underscoring the need to assess their contributions alongside fatty acids.

The study used laboratory-cultured skin cells for experimental purposes. These culture models lack the complexity of the skin’s physiological environment, including the presence of immune cells, blood circulation, and barrier function. These factors highlight the need to validate the study findings in animal and human studies and assess the safety profile and efficacy under real-world conditions.

Furthermore, the study used primary dermal fibroblasts from a single donor to ensure experimental consistency. Considering this limitation, the researchers advise that future studies should include multiple donors to assess the reproducibility and generalizability of the findings.

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Journal reference:

  • Poljšak N. 2025. Influence of vegetable oils and their constituents on in vitro human keratinocyte and fibroblast proliferation and migration. Scientific Reports. doi: https://doi.org/10.1038/s41598-025-09711-7 https://www.nature.com/articles/s41598-025-09711-7

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