Oat β‐Glucan Improves Skin Barrier Repair by Regulating EGFR Signaling Pathway

Oat β‐glucan (OG) is a polysaccharide with good water solubility. In recent years, due to its safety profile, OG has been widely used in the food and medicine fields, such as regulating immunity, lowering cholesterol, and treating psoriasis and atopic dermatitis. However, the mechanism of OG in epidermal barrier research is not well understood. This study demonstrated that topical application of OG improved epidermal healing and accelerated the recovery of the epidermal barrier by promoting epidermal cell migration and differentiation in human and cellular experiments. Mechanistic studies revealed a positive interaction between OG and the epidermal growth factor receptor (EGFR) and regulated the expression of the extracellular regulated protein kinases, AKT serine/threonine kinase 1, and signal transducer and activator of transcription 3 via activation of the downstream EGFR. OG promoted re‐epithelialization of keratinocytes via EGFR to promote skin barrier repair and improve skin condition. This study demonstrated the healing effect of OG on the damaged epidermal barrier. OG could be considered a valuable and potential component in the development of skin repair materials.