Researchers have discovered molecules produced by bacteria found in the guts of fish that have skin-lightening and anti-wrinkle properties, making them potential ingredients in future skincare products.
What products do you put on your face?
Cosmetics and skincare products contain some pretty bizarre ingredients. One example is snail slime, which is used for its moisturizing and antioxidant properties. But the findings of research published in the journal ACS Omega on July 29 may be one of the weirdest things you can put on your face.
Fish guts might seem like the last place you’d look for cosmetic compounds, but the idea isn’t entirely far-fetched. Many important drugs have been discovered in strange places, such as the antibacterial properties of penicillin, which were discovered after a failed experiment and mold appeared.
More recently, the brain cancer drug marzomeb was derived from microbes found in marine sediments at the bottom of the ocean. The gut microbes of fish, such as red sea bream and blackhead sea bream, could be potential, untapped sources of new compounds.
Although these microbes were first identified in 1992 and 2016, respectively, no studies had been conducted on the compounds they produce. So, Hyo-Jung Lee and Chung-Sup Kim of Sungkyunkwan University in South Korea wanted to study whether these bacteria produce any metabolites that could have cosmetic benefits, according to EurekAlert.
Red sea bream and black sea bream are sources of cosmetics.
The team identified 22 chemical molecules produced by gut bacteria in red and blackhead sea bream, and then assessed each compound’s ability to inhibit enzymes in lab-grown mouse cells. The enzymes are tyrosinase, which helps produce melanin, which causes hyperpigmentation in the skin as we age; and collagenase, which breaks down the structural protein collagen, causing wrinkles.
Three molecules from the red sea bream bacteria were able to better inhibit both enzymes without damaging the cells, making them promising anti-wrinkle and skin-lightening agents in future cosmetic products.