the present invention will be illustrated in greater detail with the aid of the following non - limiting examples . laminarin can be extracted in accordance with the process mentioned in the french patent application no . 92 . 08387 , incorporated here by way of reference . examples 1 and 2 hereinafter illustrate other processes for obtaining laminarin or oligosaccharides derived from laminarin . 105 g of dry algae of type laminaria digitata are submitted to an extraction by 1 . 51 of 0 . 09 m sulfuric acid . the extraction is effected in a water - bath at a temperature of about 70 ° c . for 2 hours 30 minutes . the extract is filtered under vacuum on a whatman gf / a filter , then on a 0 . 45 μm millipore filter . the liquid thus obtained is submitted to a tangential ultraliltration at 5000 daltons . for this , a pellicon system , marketed by millipore , equipped with a cassette of 5000 dalton porosity is used in association with a procon pump , also marketed by millipore . the operation is effected in maintaining a pressure of 3 bars on the filtration cassette . a filtrate of about 1 . 3 litres of ph 3 to 5 is thus obtained , which is then submitted to a lyophilization leading to 5 . 5 g of dry powder corresponding to 90 % pure laminarin . 10 g of laminarin extracted according to example 1 are submitted to the action of 1 g of a β ( 1 - 3 ) glucanase ( laminarinase ). the enzymatic reaction is carried out in 11 of 0 . 05 m acetate buffer ( ph 5 ) medium . this mixture is incubated at 37 ° c . for 20 minutes . then in inactivation of the enzyme is effected in a water bath at 100 ° c . for 10 minutes . after cooling to room temperature , the product is submitted to a tangential ultrafiltration of 50000 daltons in such a way as to remove the inactivated enzyme . this is carried out on a carbon - ceramic tubular membrane of the & lt ;& lt ; carbosep & gt ;& gt ; type of 50000 daltons porosity . the operation is carried out in maintaining a pressure of 1 bar on the filtration column . a filtrate of a volume of about 0 . 9 litres is thus obtained , of ph 5 and of a resistivity of 175 ohms / cm . this is then submitted to a desalting step . in this , it is treated on a cation exchange column of the type strong exchanger such as amberlite ir 120 ® then , on an anion exchange resin of the type strong exchanger such as amberlite ira 400 ®. a product presenting a resistivity of 2000 ohms / cm is thus obtained , of volume 0 . 9 1 . after atomization , 3 . 6 g of oligosaccharides derived from laminarin are thus obtained . laminarin and the oligosaccharides derived from laminarin obtained in examples 1 and 2 were submitted to a high performance liquid chromatography . the hplc spectra are given respectively in fig1 and 2 . it is specifically noted that these spectra were obtained with an injection of 50 μl using a dionex ® chromatograph and with an ammeter as the detector . the properties of the compounds in accordance with the present invention were demonstrated by carrying out the experiments described below . demonstration of the stimulant properties of laminarin in cultures of fibroblasts of human dermis . the effect of laminarin obtained according to example 1 was studied in cultures of fibroblasts from human dermis . the activity of laminarin was evaluated after 20 hours of incubation by the measurement of a functional parameter , the incorporation of 14 c radiolabelled leucine in the proteins , which reflects the neosynthesis of the proteins . the fibroblasts were isolated from samples of the skin effected during mammary plastic surgery on women aged 44 years old . these fibroblasts were obtained after dissociation of the epidermis and the dermis by trypsin . the reference cultures were effected in parallel , in the absence of laminarin : cmaf : culture medium for the incubation of fibroblasts in the presence of minimum essential medium ( mem ) to which is added 100 iu / ml of penicillin and 100μg / ml of streptomycin . cmaf : culture medium for the attachment of the fibroblasts : mem / m199 ( name given to a medium of standard culture ) in the proportions 3 / 4 : 1 / 4 ( v / v ) to which is added 100 iu / ml of penicillin , 100 μg / ml of streptomycin and 10 % ( v / v ) of foetal calf serum ( fcs ). the complete medium ( positive reference ) gives rise to an enhancement in the incorporation of the leucine in the proteins of the fibroblasts by a factor equal to 1 . 7 . this value is within the range of cells normally obtained in the laboratory ; it demonstrates the capacity of the cells to respond to stimulant factors . laminarin obtained according to example 1 was introduced into proliferating fibroblasts for 20 hours . the fibroblasts were incubated with 14 c radiolabelled leucine ( 14 c radiolabelling on carbon 1 , specific activity 1 . 92 gbq / mmole ) for 4 hours . the culture medium used for the incorporation of 14 c leucine in the proteins is the leucine - free mem medium to which is added 100 iu / ml of pericillin , 100 μg / ml of streptomycin and 9 . 6 × 10 - 6 m of radiolabelled leucine ( 18 . 5 kbq / ml ). the cellular mats were washed in order to remove the non - incorporaited precursor and were then counted by liquid scintillation . the values are expressed in dpm / culture well . laminarin is directly dissolved in the incubation medium at doses of 0 . 1 , 1 , 10 , 100 and 1000 μg / ml . each assay is repeated 4 times . ______________________________________reference without laminarin in μg / mllaminarin 0 . 1 1 10 100 1000______________________________________assay 1 818 872 877 1015 979 978 assay 2 761 801 976 1188 1108 1070 assay 3 739 848 926 973 980 974 assay 4 769 875 888 1070 932 1053 average 772 849 917 1062 1000 1019 ± ± ± ± ± ± ± deviation 33 34 45 93 76 50 % with respect to 100 110 119 138 130 132 reference______________________________________ laminarin has , under the tested experimental conditions , an optimal activity at the concentration of 10 μg / ml . laminarin enhances the neosynthesis of the proteins in the fibroblasts , by a factor of 1 . 3 , at concentrations ranging from 10 to 1000 μg / ml , in a culture medium totally devoid of foetal calf serum , which demonstrates the stimulant effect of laminarin . demonstration of the stimulant properties of laminarin in cultures of keratinocytes of the human epidermis . the effect of the laminarin obtained according to example 1 was studied in cultures of keratinocytes of the human epidermis . its activity was evaluated after 20 hours of incubation by the measurement of a functional parameter , the incorporation of 14 c radiolabelled leucine in the proteins , which reflects the neosynthesis of the proteins . the keratinocytes were isolated from samples of skin during mammary plastic surgery on women aged 34 years old . these keratinocytes were obtained after dissociation of the epidermis and the dermis by trypsin , they were cultivated with fibroblasts of mouse embryos ( 3t3 ) whose capacity to divide was blocked by mitomycin c ( green &# 39 ; s model ). either in the & lt ;& lt ; reference culture & gt ;& gt ; medium ( cmik ) culture medium for the incubation of the keratinocytes in the presence of cmak compounds , medium with neither epidermal growth factor egf nor foetal calf serumr fcs , diluted to 1 / 10 e in mem medium ( minimum essential medium ), to which is added 100 iu / ml of penicillin and 100 μg / ml of streptomycin . or in the & lt ;& lt ; positive culture medium & gt ;& gt ;( cmak ): culture medium for the attachment of keratinocytes i . e . a mem / m199 medium ( name given to a standard culture medium ) in the proportions 3 / 4 : 1 / 4 ( v / v ) to which is added 100 iu / ml of penicillin , 100 μg / ml of streptomycin , 10 % ( v / v ) of foetal calf serum , 10 ng / ml of epidermal growth factor ( egf ), 10 ng / ml of choleraic toxin , 5 μg / ml of bovine insulin , 0 . 4 μg / ml of hydrocortisone , 5 μg / ml of choline and 8 . 5 μg / ml of inositol . laminarin was placed in the presence of the proliferating keratinocytes for 20 hours . the keratinocytes were incubated with the 14 c radiolabeled leucine for 4 hours . the culture medium used for the incorporation of 14 c leucine in the proteins is the leucine - free mem medium to which is added 100 iu / ml of penicillin , 100 μg / ml of streptomycin and 9 . 6 × 10 - 6 m of radiolabelled leucine ( 18 . 5 kbq / ml ). the cellular mats were washed in order to remove the rnon incorporated precursor and were then counted by liquid scintillation . the values are expressed in dpm / culture well . laminarin is directly dissolved in the incubation medium at doses of 0 . 1 , 1 , 10 , 100 , 1000 μg / ml . each assay is repeated 4 times . ______________________________________reference without laminarin in μg / mllaminarin 0 . 1 1 10 100 1000______________________________________assay 1 5862 6033 6522 7462 7693 6264 assay 2 5642 6733 7178 8159 8778 7723 assay 3 5642 5869 7449 9909 7713 7386 assay 4 5375 4966 5648 8241 7073 7811 average 5630 5900 6699 8443 7814 7296 ± ± ± ± ± ± ± deviation 199 727 802 1038 708 712 % with respect to 100 105 119 150 139 130 reference______________________________________ thus , laminarin enhances the neosynthesis of the proteins in the keratinocytes of the human dermis , by a factor of 1 . 3 to 1 . 5 , at concentrations ranging from 10 to 1000 μg / ml . it presents , under the experimental conditions tested , an optimal activity at the concentration of 10 μg / ml . demonstration of the stimulant proteins of the oligosaccharides derived from laminarin in cultures of fibroblasts of the human dermis . in this experiment , the effect studied is that of the oligosaccharides derived from laminarin obtained in example 2 . the conditions of operation in this experiment are the same as those in experiment no . 1 . the oligosaccharides are directly dissolved in the incubation medium at doses of 0 . 1 , 1 , 10 , 100 , 1000 μg / ml . each assay is repeated 4 times . ______________________________________reference oligosaccharides derived from without laminarin oligosacc ( μg / ml ) haride 0 . 1 1 10 100 1000______________________________________assay 1 818 798 861 1022 1014 1059 assay 2 761 925 947 1074 1169 958 assay 3 739 846 860 1146 1184 984 assay 4 769 806 781 1163 1154 1129 average 772 844 862 1101 1130 1032 ± ± ± ± ± ± ± deviation 33 58 68 65 78 77 % with respect to 100 109 112 143 146 134 reference______________________________________ these results show that the oligosaccharides derived from laminarin enhance the neosynthesis of the proteins in the fibroblasts of the human dermis by a factor of 1 . 4 at concentrations ranging from 10 to 1000 μg / rnl . the maximal effects are observed at 10 and 100 μg / ml . demonstration of the stimulant properties of the oligosaccharides derived from laminarin in the cultures of keratinocytes of the human epidermis . in this experiment , the effect studied is that of the oligosaccharides derived from laminarin obtained according to example 2 . the conditions of operation in this experiment are the tame as those of example no . 2 . the oligosaccharides are directly dissolved in the incubation medium at doses of 0 . 1 , 1 , 10 , 100 , 1000 μg / ml . each assay is repeated 4 times . ______________________________________reference oligosaccharides derived from without laminarin oligosacc ( μg / ml ) haride 0 . 1 1 10 100 1000______________________________________assay 1 5862 6652 7075 8124 9028 7503 assay 2 5642 6551 7281 8289 9314 9181 assay 3 5642 6701 7361 8862 9483 8611 assay 4 5375 5627 6379 9973 8634 7697 average 5630 6383 7024 8812 9115 8248 ± ± ± ± ± ± ± deviation 199 508 447 836 371 788 % with respect to 100 113 125 157 162 146 reference______________________________________ these results show that the oligosaccharides derived from laminarin enhance the neosynthesis of the proteins in the keratinocytes of the human epidermis by a factor of 1 . 6 at concentrations ranging from 1 to 1000 μg / ml . the maximal effects are observed at 10 and 100 μg / ml . different cosmetic or pharmaceutical compositions containing laminarin or oligosaccharides derived from laminarin such as prepared in examples 1 and 2 will be given in examples 4 to 7 below . formulation of a pharmaceutical ointment with healing action in which laminarin is integrated . ______________________________________healing ointment % ______________________________________paraffin oil 95 . 1 polyethylene sorbitan trioleate ( e200 ) 2 . 5 calendula extract 1 . 0 essential oil of melaleuca alternifolia 0 . 5 laminarin 0 . 5 preservative 0 . 4______________________________________ formulation of a cosmetic cream with regenerating action containing laminarin as active ingredient . ______________________________________regenerating cream % ______________________________________purified water 69 . 4 isocetyl stearate 11 . 0 extract of algae 6 . 0 cetyl alcohol 4 . 0 glycerol stearate 3 . 5 glycerol stearate polyethylene glycol ether 3 . 5 silicone oil 1 . 0 laminarin 0 . 6 sodium pyrrolidone carboxylate 0 . 5 preservative 0 . 3 perfume 0 . 2______________________________________ formulation of a moisturizing lotion containing oligosaccharides derived from laminarin as active ingredient . ______________________________________moisturizing lotion % ______________________________________water 89 . 1 extract of algae 8 . 0 glycerine 1 . 5 oligosaccharides derived from laminarin 1 . 0 prepared according to example 2 preservative 0 . 3 perfume 0 . 1______________________________________ formulation of a marine toothpaste containing oligosaccharides derived from laminarin as active ingredient . ______________________________________marine toothpaste % ______________________________________water 47 . 6 calcium carbonate 25 . 0 red alga 12 . 0 extract of alga 10 . 0 carrageenan 2 . 0 oligosaccharides of laminarin 1 . 0 prepared according to example 2 silica 0 . 8 sodium lauryl ether sulfate 0 . 8 methylparaben 0 . 5 flavor 0 . 3______________________________________
a cosmetic or pharmaceutical , particularly dermatological , composition including an effective amount of laminarin or laminarin - derived oligosaccharides as the active ingredient . it has been discovered that laminarin , oligosaccharides derived therefrom and compositions containing same have stimulating , regenerating , conditioning and energising effects on human dermis fibroblasts and human epidermis keratinocytes . said composition is useful in cosmetics and pharmacology .