There are some rather unusual ingredients found in cosmetics and skincare items. A prime example is snail mucin, commonly referred to as snail slime, valued for its moisturizing and antioxidant benefits. However, researchers who published their findings in ACS Omega might have discovered an even more bizarre option for skincare: molecules generated by bacteria in fish guts. In laboratory-grown cells, these substances demonstrated properties that brighten the skin and reduce wrinkles, suggesting they could be future additions to your skincare regimen.
There are some rather unusual ingredients found in cosmetics and skincare items. A prime example is snail mucin, commonly referred to as snail slime, valued for its moisturizing and antioxidant benefits. However, researchers who published their findings in ACS Omega might have discovered an even more bizarre option for skincare: molecules generated by bacteria in fish guts. In laboratory-grown cells, these substances demonstrated properties that brighten the skin and reduce wrinkles, suggesting they could be future additions to your skincare regimen.
While the idea of sourcing cosmetic compounds from fish guts might seem peculiar, it’s not entirely unheard of. Unique and essential medications have often been discovered in unexpected locations. For instance, the antibiotic properties of penicillin emerged from a contaminated experiment. In a more recent example, the brain cancer treatment candidate Marizomib was derived from microbes found in deep-sea sediments. Researchers are looking into the gut bacteria of two fish species, the red seabream and the blackhead seabream, which reside in the western Pacific Ocean, as promising sources of new compounds. Although these microbes were identified as far back as 1992 and 2016, respectively, no studies have explored the compounds they produce. Hence, Hyo-Jong Lee and Chung Sub Kim aimed to investigate whether these bacteria generate any metabolites with potential cosmetic advantages.
The research team discovered 22 molecules produced by the gut bacteria of both the red seabream and the blackhead seabream. They assessed the ability of each compound to inhibit two specific enzymes, tyrosinase and collagenase, in cells derived from mice. (Tyrosinase is crucial for melanin synthesis, which can lead to dark spots in aging skin, while collagenase breaks down collagen, a key structural protein that, when diminished, results in wrinkles.) Notably, three molecules from the red seabream bacteria effectively inhibited both enzymes without harming the cells, positioning them as promising candidates for future anti-wrinkle and skin-brightening cosmetic products.
The authors acknowledge funding from the Marine Biotechnology Program of the Ministry of Oceans and Fisheries, the National Research Foundation of Korea, the Technology Development Program of the Ministry of Small and Medium Enterprises and Startups, Sungkyunkwan University and the BK21 FOUR program of the Ministry of Education of Korea.
