A new ingredient of unusual origin is vying for snail mucin’s K-beauty skin care crown.
Korean academics have identified the bacteria in fish guts as a potential source of metabolites for use in anti-ageing skin care.
A team from Sungkyunkwan University, led by Hyo-Jong Lee and Chung Sub Kim, set out to identify compounds from the gut microbes of red seabream and blackhead seabream.
The team identified 22 molecules made by the fishes’ gut bacteria Ruegeria atlantica and Pseudoalteromonas neustonica.
Although these microbes were first identified in 1992 and 2016, respectively, no studies have been performed on the compounds they make.
Each compound’s ability to inhibit tyrosinase and collagenase enzymes in lab-grown mouse cells was evaluated.
Tyrosinase is involved in melanin production and causes hyperpigmentation in ageing skin.
Collagenase, meanwhile, breaks down collagen – the structural protein – causing wrinkles.
As detailed in a paper published in ACS Omega, three molecules from the red seabream bacteria (R. atlantica) strongly inhibited both enzymes without damaging the cells.
This, said the researchers, make them promising anti-wrinkle and skin-brightening agents for future cosmetic products.