Effects of Hydrangea serrata (Thunb.) Ser. (WHS) on cell proliferation, reactive oxygen species (ROS) generation, elastase activity, and procollagen type I production in UVB-induced Hs68 fibroblasts. Cells were exposed to UVB irradiation (15 mJ/cm2) and then treated with WHS (6.25, 12.5, or 25 μg/mL) for 24 h. (A) Cell viability was evaluated with an MTT assay. (B) After incubation, cells were stained with H2DCFDA (20 μM) for 30 min. ROS levels were evaluated by flow cytometry. N-acetyl-l-cystein (NAC) (10 mM), a common ROS inhibitor, was used as a positive control. (C) Cellular protein was prepared to examine elastase activity, determined using the elastase substrate STANA in WHS-treated cells. (D) The cell culture media were collected to determine the levels of procollagen type I. Values are expressed as means ± SD of three independent experiments. #
p < 0.05 vs. the control group; ** p < 0.01, and *** p < 0.001 as compared to the UVB-irradiated group.