Prima Minerva, Nur Indrawaty Lipoeto, Jamsari Jamsari, Tofrizal Tofrizal
Oxidative stress, primarily mediated by reactive oxygen species (ROS), accelerates skin aging by causing damage, altering antioxidant levels, and promoting inflammation. D-galactose induces oxidative stress by increasing advanced glycation end products and ROS, resulting in cell damage. The present study aimed to assess the effect of intraperitoneal and oral administration of D-galactose on the aging process in rat skin. A total of 27 three-month-old Rattus norvegicus were allocated to three groups, each consisting of nine animals. Rats in the control group were not induced with D-galactose (CON). The first treatment group received an intraperitoneal injection of D-galactose at 150 mg/kg body weight (BW; T1), while the second treatment group received oral administration of D-galactose at 500 mg/kg BW (T2). D-galactose was administered for 60 days, and samples of the rat's dorsal skin were collected and examined for malondialdehyde (MDA) levels, superoxide dismutase (SOD) activity, and histological examination using hematoxylin and eosin staining. The clinical features exhibited that the rat's skin treated with D-galactose was dry, rough, and dull, with brownish-yellow fur. Histopathology analysis indicated a significant decrease in collagen density in the treatment group. Intraperitoneal injection of D-galactose significantly increased MDA levels but did not lead to a significant reduction in SOD levels or skin collagen density compared to the control group. The oral administration of D-galactose significantly increased MDA levels but reduced SOD levels and collagen density in skin tissue compared to the control group. The present study indicated no significant differences in SOD, MDA levels, or collagen density between the intraperitoneal D-galactose group and the orally administered group. Oral administration of D-galactose could increase oxidative stress, decrease antioxidant activity, and decrease collagen density in mouse skin. Oral D-galactose can be used as an alternative method to induce skin aging in rats. © The Author(s) 2026. This article is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License, which permits use, sharing, adaptation, distribution and reproduction in any medium or format, as long as you give appropriate credit to the original author(s) and the source, provide a link to the Creative Commons licence, and indicate if changes were made. The images or other third party material in this article are included in the article's Creative Commons licence, unless indicated otherwise in a credit line to the material. If material is not included in the article's Creative Commons licence and your intended use is not permitted by statutory regulation or exceeds the permitted use, you will need to obtain permission directly from the copyright holder. To view a copy of this licence, visit https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/.
Doctoral Biomedical Science Program, Faculty of Medicine, Universitas Andalas, Padang, Indonesia; Department of Cosmetology and Beauty, Tourism and Hospitality Faculty, Universitas Negeri Padang, Padang, Indonesia; Department of Nutrition, Faculty of Medicine, Universitas Andalas, Padang, Indonesia; Department of Agrotechnology, Faculty of Agriculture, Universitas Andalas, Padang, Indonesia; Department of Pathology Anatomy, Faculty of Medicine, Universitas Andalas, Padang, Indonesia
