JP2001131044A - Method for discriminating ageing-improving agent and skin lotion containing ageing-improving agent - Google Patents

Abstract

PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To provide a new screening method for improving ageing and obtain a skin lotion useful for improving ageing by applying the technique. SOLUTION: This method for discriminating an ageing-improving agent is to make a sugar, protein, lipid peroxide and its secondary product coexist, incubate at a temperature close to that of a living body, generate a fluorescent material, further carry out a secondary incubation with making a material to be tested coexist, measure a fluorescence intensity and discriminate a lipofuscin-like material-degrading action of the material to be tested by using fluorescence intensities in the respective cases of presence and absence of the material and the degree of inhibition of the increase of fluorescence intensity by the material as indices. The skin lotion is made to contain the material having the aforesaid lipofuscin-degrading action.

Description

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

[0001]

The present invention relates to a skin external preparation useful for improving skin aging and a method for designing the same.

[0002]

2. Description of the Related Art A fresh, elastic, fine-textured, white skin has been recognized as a beautiful skin since ancient times, and many people have made various efforts to realize such skin. It is no exaggeration to say that the science for realizing such skin is the origin of cosmetics science. In the young age, even if you have such fresh skin, as you age, it is easy for anyone to lose such beauty and become inelastic, bulky and rough skin It is a phenomenon that must be experienced at least once, but hopefully it will be as late as possible to visit such a phenomenon. It would be the same if there were any means for improving such a phenomenon. For this reason, in the field of cosmetics science,
One of the major themes is the elucidation of such skin aging phenomena.According to the results of many previous studies, active oxygen and lipid peroxide generated by exposure to ultraviolet rays crosslink and disrupt tissue structures such as collagen. It is thought that the reaction is caused by such reactions as described above, and the components constituting the skin cause a chemical reaction to be colored and insolubilized. Based on such findings, such aging models include screening for agents for preventing and / or improving aging, using the activity of active oxygen and lipid peroxide to inhibit the decomposition of skin components such as collagen and hyaluronic acid as an index. It has been done. On the other hand, as a model of the in vivo reaction, a Maillard reaction, which is a reaction of forming a Schiff base between a sugar and albumin or an amino acid, has been conceived, and a screening for an agent for preventing or improving aging using the inhibitory effect of this reaction as an index. Began to be done. However,
Even a component that is effective in screening based on the activity of inhibiting the decomposition of skin constituents or the activity of inhibiting the Maillard reaction by active oxygen or lipid peroxide as an index, it is hard to say that it is effective in in vivo drug efficacy assays. There were not many things. That is, it is difficult for any aging researcher to argue that such active oxygen or lipid peroxide alone cannot suppress the degradation of skin constituents or inhibit the Maillard reaction, and thus cannot be an indicator of the prevention or improvement of aging. I think that it is.
That is, development of a screening method for prevention and improvement of aging has been desired. From such a point of view, the inventors have conducted research and found a screening method using Advanced Glycation End Products as an index,
Using the inhibitory effect of lipofuscin-like substance production as an indicator of aging prevention and improvement, coexist with saccharides, proteins, lipid peroxides and their secondary products present in the body, incubate at a temperature close to the living body, before and after incubation The difference in the fluorescence intensity of the test substance is measured, the sugars, proteins, lipid peroxides and their secondary products present in the living body are coexisted with the test substance, and the difference in the fluorescence intensity measured under the same conditions is compared. Using the degree of suppression of the enhancement of fluorescence intensity during incubation as an index, discriminating the inhibitory action of lipofuscin-like substance production, and including a substance excellent in such properties in cosmetics, suitable for prevention and improvement of aging The present inventors have found that a skin external preparation such as the above can be designed. However, it is a point of view that all such indicators and characteristics should not age as much as possible, and should be kept in a better condition than nothing.As a vector, there is no change in the direction of aging. There is no indication of true improvement in turning the vector backwards.

On the other hand, saccharides, proteins, lipid peroxides and secondary products thereof present in the living body are allowed to coexist, and the mixture is incubated at a temperature close to the living body to generate a fluorescent substance. Incubate and fluorescence intensity d
1 is measured, the fluorescence intensity d2 in the case of secondary incubation in the absence of the test substance is determined, and the value of d1 / d2 is calculated to be d3. Separately, saccharides, proteins,
Lipid peroxide and its secondary products are allowed to coexist, incubated at a temperature close to that of the living body, the difference in fluorescence intensity before and after the incubation is measured, and sugars, proteins, lipid peroxides and their secondary products present in the living body are measured. The coexistence of the test substance, comparing with the difference in the fluorescence intensity measured under the same conditions, the degree of suppression of the enhancement of the fluorescence intensity in the incubation of the test substance,
(Fluorescence intensity after incubation in the presence of test substance-fluorescence intensity before incubation in the presence of test substance) / (fluorescence intensity after incubation in the absence of test substance-fluorescence intensity before incubation in the absence of test substance) The numerical value d4 expressed is determined, and the lipofuscin-like substance decomposition action of the test substance is not distinguished by using d3 and d4 as indices. By such a distinction, the vector is turned in the reverse direction, and the true improvement is achieved. It was not known that a substance having an action or such an improving action could be distinguished.

[0004]

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION The present invention has been made under such circumstances, and provides a novel screening method for improving aging, and is useful for improving aging by applying such a technique. It is an object to provide a skin external preparation.

[0005]

In view of such circumstances, the present inventors have conducted intensive studies for a screening method for improving aging, and as a result, have found that the advanced glycation end -It was found that the presence of lipid peroxide under the conditions of product formation caused the formation of a different lipofuscin-like substance, which was further investigated and found to be due to light irradiation, etc.) It has been found that lipofuscin-like substances play an important role as aging reactants in living organisms. Based on this finding, it was found that discrimination related to skin aging could be performed by using such a lipofuscin-like substance as an index, and as a result of repeated research for a model, it was found that saccharides, proteins, Coexist with oxidized lipids and their secondary products, incubate at a temperature close to that of the living body, measure the difference in fluorescence intensity before and after the incubation, and determine the saccharides, proteins, lipid peroxides and their secondary products present in the living body. By coexisting the test substance, comparing with the difference in the fluorescence intensity measured under the same conditions, and using the degree of suppression of the enhancement of the fluorescence intensity in the incubation of the test substance as an index, the production of the lipofuscin-like substance of the test substance is suppressed. It has been found that the action can be discriminated, and based on this action, it is possible to screen for an agent for preventing or improving aging. Furthermore, the present inventors have repeated studies, coexist with saccharides, proteins, lipid peroxides and their secondary products present in the living body, incubate at a temperature close to the living body, to generate a substance having fluorescence, The secondary incubation is performed in the presence of the test substance, the fluorescence intensity d1 is measured, the fluorescence intensity d2 when the secondary incubation is performed in the absence of the test substance is determined, the value of d1 / d2 is calculated, and d3 is calculated. Incubate saccharides, proteins, lipid peroxides and their secondary products coexisting in the medium, incubate at a temperature close to that of the living body, measure the difference in fluorescence intensity before and after the incubation, and determine the saccharides, proteins, lipid peroxides present in the living body And the secondary product and the test substance are allowed to coexist, and the difference between the fluorescence intensities measured under the same conditions is compared to determine the degree of suppression of the enhancement of the fluorescence intensity during the incubation of the test substance. Fluorescence intensity after incubation in the presence of the substance-fluorescence intensity before incubation in the presence of the test substance) / (fluorescence intensity after incubation in the absence of the test substance-fluorescence intensity before incubation in the absence of the test substance) The present inventors have found that by determining the numerical value d4 and using d3 and d4 as indices, it is possible to discriminate the action of decomposing a lipofuscin-like substance produced in a living body and improving the produced aging, thereby completing the invention. Hereinafter, the present invention,
The embodiment will be described in detail mainly.

[0006]

BEST MODE FOR CARRYING OUT THE INVENTION (1) Method for discriminating the action of inhibiting the production of lipofuscin-like substance of the present invention In the present invention, lipofuscin-like substance is used as an indicator of aging. Here, lipofuscin-like substances refer to proteins, peptides and lipid peroxides and their secondary products (aldehydes, etc.) in vivo.
Means a lipid-peroxide-protein complex that is insoluble in water and is caused by a multiple production reaction with the same. It is a naturally irreversible product and a fluorescent material. As shown in Examples below, the formation of this substance is closely related to skin aging. Therefore, the effect of the substance on aging can be discriminated by using, as an index, the ease with which the substance is produced, the difficulty with which it is produced, and the ease with which it can be suppressed. One of the reasons why this reaction is complicated is that there are many types of substances in the skin that cause the reaction, and lipid peroxidation due to various causes such as ultraviolet rays and inflammation is also an important factor. Because there is. Therefore, such screening requires the presence of the main components and lipid peroxide in the living body. As such participating substances in the living body, if it is a saccharide, hyaluronic acid and / or a salt, glucose and the like can be preferably exemplified, and if it is a substance having an amino group such as a protein, a peptide and an amino acid,
Collagen, elastin and the like can be preferably exemplified. In the case of nucleic acids, nucleosides such as adenosine, guanosine, uridine and thymidine, nucleotides such as ATP and ADP, RNA and DNA can be preferably exemplified. Among them, sugars and / or proteins can be exemplified. Is particularly preferred. In view of the influence of solubility and importance as a reaction site, lipid peroxides and secondary products thereof generated by irradiation of phospholipids such as lecithin with ultraviolet rays can be exemplified. Further, it is preferable to coexist nucleic acids present in the cells. This is mixed, incubated at a temperature close to the living body at 35 ° C. to 45 ° C., the production of the lipofuscin-like substance is measured by fluorescence intensity, the difference in the amount of production before and after the incubation is determined, and the magnitude of this difference is determined by the test substance. The degree of decrease in the difference can be discriminated from the inhibition value of lipofuscin-like substance production, that is, the inhibitory effect of the test substance on lipofuscin-like substance. This degree can be expressed as the absolute value obtained by subtracting the peak area before incubation in the presence of the test substance from the peak area after incubation in the presence of the test substance, or as that of the control. The comparison and display as a ratio, for example, (peak area after incubation in the presence of the test substance-peak area before incubation in the presence of the test substance) is expressed as (post-incubation in the absence of the test substance) Peak area −
(The peak area before incubation in the absence of the test substance) can also be used. The value thus obtained is defined as d4. Similarly, a lipofuscin-like substance is generated in advance in the absence of the test substance, and secondary incubation with the test substance is performed to measure the fluorescence intensity d1, and the fluorescence intensity measured in the secondary incubation in the absence of the test substance is measured. Comparison with d2, for example, calculating a numerical value such as d3 represented by d1 / d2, the value of d4 represented by d4 is large, in other words, a substance having a small effect of suppressing lipofuscin production and having a small d3 is a lipofuscin-like substance. It can be defined as a decomposing agent, and such an action is distinguished from an action of decomposing a lipofuscin-like substance. Here, the period of the secondary incubation is preferably a period in which the effect of suppressing the production of lipofuscin-like substances is negligible, and specifically, about one week is preferable. The boundary value between d3 and d4 is preferably 0.5.

(2) Method for Screening Agent for Improving Aging of the Present Invention The method for screening an agent for improving aging according to the present invention is characterized by using the degree of the above-mentioned lipofuscin-like substance decomposition action as an index. In other words, if such an effect is large, it is discriminated that the larger the effect is, the greater the effect of improving aging, especially the aging of the skin, and it is necessary to discriminate a substance having such a large lipofuscin-like substance decomposing action from a substance that improves aging. And the screening method of the present invention. In this index, 0.1% by weight of the test substance is compared with the control without the test substance.
In the present invention, those which are suppressed to 0.5 or less in the presence of a degree are distinguished from excellent aging improvers. In addition, this product has a small inhibitory action on the production of the lipofuscin-like substance,
That is, it is necessary that the lipofuscin suppression value is 0.5 or more. If the value is less than 0.5, the lipofuscin-like substance production inhibitor will be picked up, and the decomposition effect may not be obtained. Such an aging-improving agent of the present invention can improve the aging state of the skin by being contained and administered in an external preparation for skin such as cosmetics. Examples of such an aging state include, for example, dullness peculiar to the elderly, loss of elasticity of the skin, and absence of a beam. By improving aging in this way, the effect of a substance that supplements the cortical function and barrier function of skin that has deteriorated due to aging can be increased, and the skin can be kept more youthful.
Thus, it is possible to design a skin external preparation such as a cosmetic that is useful for improving aging by using the lipofuscin-like substance decomposing action and the aging improving action of the present invention as an index. Is the way.

(3) The Aging Improvement Agent of the Present Invention The aging inhibitor of the present invention was determined to be effective in the above-mentioned method for distinguishing the aging improving action using the lipofuscin-like substance decomposition action as an index. Ingredients, ie, (peak area after incubation when test substance is present-peak area before incubation when test substance is present)
Divided by (peak area after incubation in the absence of the test substance-peak area before incubation in the absence of the test substance) of 0.5 or more, (primary incubation in the presence of the test substance) The fluorescence intensity when the lipofuscin-like substance generated in step 2 is secondary-incubated) / (the fluorescence intensity when the lipofuscin-like substance generated in the primary incubation in the second incubation in the absence of the test substance) is 0.5 or less Characterized by the following components: Here, the component is
It is a generic term for simple chemical substances, mixed compositions of crude drugs, extracts from animals and plants, and fractionated purified products thereof. These components can degrade lipofuscin-like substances, thereby ameliorating skin aging due to loss of elasticity or dull color due to the deposition of such substances. The administration route of this is not particularly limited, and any of oral administration, topical administration, intravascular administration, etc. is possible,
External application on the skin is particularly preferred because it is closest to the site of the reaction. According to the study of the present inventors, as shown in Examples described below, as the components having such an action, essences of plants of Sakinoshita, litchi, horsetail, St. John's wort, and Doaf myrtle can be exemplified as preferred examples. Here, the essence refers to the plant itself, a processed product obtained by drying, shredding, crushing, etc. the plant, an extract obtained by extracting the plant or the processed product with a solvent, etc. It is a general term for fractionation, purification, concentration and fractionation / purification of a solvent-extracted product, an extract or a solvent-extracted product. Among these, an extract, a solvent-removed product thereof, and a purified fraction product can be particularly preferably exemplified. As the extract, an extract using a polar solvent is preferable, for example, water, alcohols such as ethanol and 1,3-butanediol, esters such as ethyl acetate and methyl formate, ethers such as diethyl ether and tetrahydrofuran, chloroform and the like. One or two or more selected from halogenated hydrocarbons such as methylene chloride, nitriles such as acetonitrile, and ketones such as acetone and methyl ethyl ketone can be preferably exemplified. Among them, a mixed solution of water and alcohol is particularly preferable. Can be illustrated. Extraction is performed on the plant body in an amount of 1 to 10
The solvent may be added at twice the temperature and immersed for several days at room temperature or several hours at a temperature near the boiling point, and if necessary, insoluble matter may be removed by filtration or the like. For fractionation purification, use silica gel, ODS,
Preferable examples include column chromatography and liquid-liquid extraction using an ion exchange resin or the like as a carrier. Concentration and solvent removal are preferably exemplified by distillation under reduced pressure and freeze-drying.

(4) External preparation for skin of the present invention The external preparation for skin of the present invention is characterized by containing the above-mentioned agent for improving aging. The external preparation for skin of the present invention has the effect of reducing the amount of lipofuscin-like substance accumulated in the skin and improving the aging of the skin by the action of the skin aging improver.
In addition, the hair and the like can generate such a substance to improve troubles such as hair loss. These may contain only one kind or two or more kinds in combination. The content of the skin aging improver in the external preparation for skin of the present invention is preferably 0.01 to 10% by weight, and more preferably 0.05 to 5% by weight. This is because if the concentration is too high, the percutaneous absorption efficiency may decrease and the effect may reach a plateau, and if the concentration is too low, the effective concentration may not be obtained. Further, the types of skin external preparations of the present invention include creams, emulsions, cosmetics, under-makeup cosmetics, bath preparations, cosmetics such as hair tonics, antifungal agents, anti-inflammatory agents, analgesics, and other skin external preparations. Pharmaceuticals and the like can be preferably exemplified. In the skin external preparation of the present invention, in addition to the above-mentioned essential ingredient, an agent for improving skin aging, an optional component used in these skin external preparations is contained as long as the effect of the skin external preparation is not impaired. can do. Such optional components include, for example, squalane, petrolatum, hydrocarbons such as microcrystalline wax, jojoba oil,
Esters such as carnauba wax and octyldodecyl oleate; triglycerides such as olive oil, tallow and coconut oil; fatty acids such as stearic acid, oleic acid and ritinoleic acid; higher alcohols such as oleyl alcohol, stearyl alcohol and octyldodecanol; Anionic surfactants such as sulfosuccinates and sodium polyoxyethylene alkyl sulfate, amphoteric surfactants such as alkyl betaine salts, cationic surfactants such as dialkylammonium salts, sorbitan fatty acid esters,
Nonionic surfactants such as fatty acid monoglycerides, polyoxyethylene adducts thereof, polyoxyethylene alkyl ethers and polyoxyethylene fatty acid esters; polyhydric alcohols such as polyethylene glycol, glycerin and 1,3-butanediol; Viscous and gelling agents,
Preferred examples include antioxidants, ultraviolet absorbers, coloring agents, preservatives, and powders. Of course, ursolic acid, ursolic acid alkyl esters, benzyl esters and other collagen fiber bundle remodeling agents, and phytosterols, steroids such as phytosteide, etc. preferable. By treating these optional and essential components in accordance with a conventional method,
The external preparation for skin of the present invention can be produced. The above-mentioned effects can be exerted by administering an appropriate amount of this skin external preparation to the skin once or several times a day.

[0010]

EXAMPLES Hereinafter, the present invention will be described with reference to Examples.
Although described in more detail, it goes without saying that the present invention is not limited to only these examples.

Example 1 A 50% ethanol extract of leaves of various plants shown in Table 1 was concentrated to produce a plant essence. These extract concentrates were examined for lipofuscin-like substance production inhibitory action. That is, a 50 mM phosphate buffer (pH 7.4) solution of sodium hyaluronate (10
0 mg / 40 ml), ultraviolet rays (BLB lamp;
1 ml of irradiated and peroxidized lecithin liposomes, 500 ml of Elascon (Sansei Pharmaceutical Co., Ltd.)
μl, 500 μl of AT collagen (Koken Co., Ltd.)
20 mg of glucose, 50 mM phosphate buffer (pH 7.
4) 4 ml was weighed out, stirred well, diluted 1/10 with the above-mentioned phosphate buffer, added with 1 mg of plant essence to 10 ml of this solution, and incubated at 40 ° C. for 1 week in a shaking incubator. Before and after incubation, the fluorescence intensity (Ex: 360 nm, Em: 400 to 600 n)
m) was measured, and the value of this difference (after-before) was obtained and defined as d1 ′. For the control, the same operation was carried out without adding the plant essence, and the value of the difference (after-before) was obtained and defined as d2 '. D1 ′ / d2 ′, which is an index of inhibition of skin aging according to the present invention, is determined and d4 is determined.
And This is shown in Table 1. Further, similarly, a 50 mM phosphate buffer (pH 7.4) solution (100 mg / 40 ml) of sodium hyaluronate was added for 4 hours without the presence of the test substance.
3 ml of peroxidized lecithin liposomes irradiated with ultraviolet light (BLB lamp; manufactured by Toshiba Corp.), 500 μl of collagen, 500 μl of Elascon, and 2 parts of glucose
After weighing out 0 mg and stirring well, the mixture was incubated at 40 ° C. for 1 week to produce a lipofuscin-like substance.
Take 10 ml of a 1/10 dilution of this solution and add 1 mg
Was added and incubated at 40 ° C. for 1 week. The same operation was performed for the control (no test substance) without adding the test substance. The results are also shown in Table 1. It can be seen that all of these substances have a small amount of lipofuscin-like substance when they coexist with the produced lipofuscin-like substance, despite their weak inhibitory action on the production of lipofuscin-like substance. That is, it is understood that the compound has a lipofuscin-like substance decomposing action.

[0012]

[Table 1]

Example 2 Using a group of five hairless mice, the effect of improving the aging in a photoaging model using ultraviolet light was examined. That is, the hairless mouse receives one-third the amount of ultraviolet light (BLB lamp; manufactured by Toshiba Corporation) of MED once a day.
Irradiation was performed 8 times at a rate of 5 times / week for 1 week to prepare an aging model animal. This aging model was administered once a day for 5 consecutive weeks, and recovery from skin aging was observed. In the recovery, the state of skin elasticity was compared with the average level of the control group to which no sample was administered, ++: very elasticity was restored, +: apparent elasticity was restored, ±: The elasticity is recovering a little-: The standard of the elasticity recovery is not recognized,
Similarly, skin color dullness was similarly determined on the basis of ++: extremely dullness recovered, +: clear dullness recovered, ±: slightly dullness recovered, −: no dullness recovery observed Table 2 shows the results of the evaluation. From this, the above d
The lipofuscin-like substance decomposing agent (aging improver) of the present invention, in which the value of 4 is 0.5 or more and d3 is 0.5 or less, improves the aging phenomenon caused by photoaging in a photoaging model. You can see that it is doing.

[0014]

[Table 2]

<Examples 3 to 7> Lotions were prepared according to the following formulations. That is, the ingredients are stirred at room temperature.
Solubilized to obtain a lotion. For these cosmetics, a group of three panelists suffering from dullness were used twice a day for one month in the morning and evening to evaluate the improvement of dullness. The evaluation criteria are rating 2: significant improvement, rating 1: obvious improvement, rating 0.5: slight improvement, 0: no improvement. Table 3 shows the results. From this, it was confirmed that the cosmetic for preventing and improving aging of the present invention has an effect of improving aging such as dullness. Plant essence * 1 part by weight 1,3-butanediol 5 parts by weight Glycerin 3 parts by weight Sodium citrate 0.1 part by weight Methylparaben 0.2 parts by weight Ethanol 8 parts by weight Water 82.7 parts by weight * Details are shown in Table 3. Show.

[0016]

[Table 3]

Example 8 An emulsion (external medicine for skin) was prepared according to the following formulation. That is, the prescription ingredient a,
(B) and (c) were heated to 80 ° C., and (b) was gradually added to the mixture while stirring to emulsify. Further, (c) was gradually added to neutralize the mixture. B) Squalane 10 parts by weight Cetanol 3 parts by weight Sorbitan sesquistearate 2 parts by weight Polyoxyethylene (20) behenyl ether 2 parts by weight Vitamin A acid 1 part by weight b) 1,3-butanediol 5 parts by weight Litchi essence 0. 1 part by weight Carboxyvinyl polymer 0.3 part by weight Water 40 parts by weight C) Water 36.4 parts by weight Potassium hydroxide 0.2 parts by weight

[0018]

According to the present invention, there is provided a novel screening method for improvement of aging and the application of such a technique.
An external preparation for skin useful for improving aging can be provided.

──────────────────────────────────────────────────続 き Continued on the front page (51) Int.Cl. ⁷ Identification symbol FI Theme coat ゛ (Reference) G01N 33/50 G01N 33/50 Z (72) Inventor Noriaki Oka 1234 Aino, Fukuroi-shi, Shizuoka Pref. 2G045 AA40 BB20 BB50 CB09 CB20 DA80 FB12 GC15 JA01 4C083 AA111 AA112 AB032 AC022 AC072 AC102 AC122 AC182 AC302 AC442 AC482 AD092 AD622 CC01 CC02 CC04 CC05 DD23 DD31 EE12 FF05

Claims (10)

[Claims] Claims 1. A saccharide, a protein, a lipid peroxide and a secondary product thereof, which are present in a living body, are allowed to coexist, and the mixture is incubated at a temperature close to that of the living body to generate a fluorescent substance. Incubate, measure the fluorescence intensity d1, determine the fluorescence intensity d2 in the case of secondary incubation in the absence of the test substance, calculate the value of d1 / d2 and set it as d3, separately obtain saccharides, proteins, Lipid peroxide and its secondary products are allowed to coexist, incubated at a temperature close to that of the living body, the difference in fluorescence intensity before and after the incubation is measured, and sugars, proteins, lipid peroxides and their secondary products present in the living body are measured. The difference between the fluorescence intensities measured under the same conditions in the presence of the test substance was compared, and the degree of suppression of the enhancement of the fluorescence intensity during the incubation of the test substance was determined. Numerical value d4 expressed by fluorescence intensity after incubation-fluorescence intensity before incubation in the presence of test substance / (fluorescence intensity after incubation in the absence of test substance-fluorescence intensity before incubation in the absence of test substance) , D3 and d4 as indices, a method for distinguishing the lipofuscin-like substance decomposition activity of a test substance. 2. As the saccharides present in the living body, one or two or more selected from glucose, hyaluronic acid and salts thereof.
The method for identifying a lipofuscin-like substance-decomposing action according to claim 1, wherein at least one species is used. 3. The method for identifying a lipofuscin-like substance-decomposing action according to claim 1, wherein collagen and / or elastin is used as an index as a protein present in a living body. 4. As a lipid peroxide and a secondary product thereof,
The method for identifying a lipofuscin-like substance producing / decomposing action according to any one of claims 1 to 3, wherein a phospholipid which has been peroxide-oxidized by ultraviolet light or the like is present. 5. A method for screening for an agent for improving skin aging, which is characterized by using a lipofuscin-like substance degrading action as an index, which is distinguished by the method according to any one of claims 1 to 4. 6. The method for screening an improving agent according to claim 5, wherein the value of d4 is 0.5 or more and the value of d3 is 0.5 or less. 7. The agent for improving skin aging according to claim 6, wherein the agent for improving skin aging is an essence of Sakinoshita, litchi, horsetail, Hypericum perforatum, and Doaf myrtle. A skin external preparation for improving skin aging, comprising the skin aging improving agent according to claim 6 or 7. 9. The external preparation for skin according to claim 8, which is a cosmetic. 10. A skin external preparation for improving aging, which is identified by the method for decomposing a lipofuscin-like substance according to any one of claims 1 to 4 and uses the degree of the lipofuscin-like substance decomposition action as an index. Design method.