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Cyanobacterial metabolites as a source of sunscreens and moisturizers: a comparison with current synthetic compounds

Derikvand, P; Llewellyn, CA; Purton, S; (2017) Cyanobacterial metabolites as a source of sunscreens and moisturizers: a comparison with current synthetic compounds. [Review]. European Journal of Phycology , 52 (1) pp. 43-56. 10.1080/09670262.2016.1214882. Green open access

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Abstract

The recognition that ultraviolet radiation has harmful effects on the skin has led to the commercial development of inorganic and synthetic organic UV filters that can reduce the negative effects of exposure to sunlight. In addition, moisturizing chemicals are extensively used in personal care products to improve the ability of skin to retain water. Whilst current UV filter and moisturizing chemicals have clear beneficial qualities, they may also have adverse effects such as contact sensitivity, oestrogenicity and even tumorigenic effects on human skin. Furthermore, the accumulation of these chemicals in the aquatic environment could be potentially harmful. Consequently, there is interest in exploiting safer alternatives derived from biological sources, especially from photosynthetic organisms such as cyanobacteria which have developed mechanisms for coping with high UV irradiation and desiccation. In order to overcome the detrimental effects of UV radiation, these microorganisms produce UV screening compounds such as mycosporine-like amino acids and scytonemin, which are good candidates as alternatives to current synthetic UV filters. In addition, extracellular substances produced by some extremophilic species living in hyper-arid habitats have a high water retention capacity and could be used in cosmetic products as moisturizers. In this review, we present an overview of the literature describing the potential of cyanobacterial metabolites as an alternative source for sunscreens and moisturizers.

Type: Article
Title: Cyanobacterial metabolites as a source of sunscreens and moisturizers: a comparison with current synthetic compounds
Open access status: An open access version is available from UCL Discovery
DOI: 10.1080/09670262.2016.1214882
Publisher version: http://doi.org/10.1080/09670262.2016.1214882
Language: English
Additional information: Copyright © 2016 The Author(s). Published by Informa UK Limited, trading as Taylor & Francis Group.This is an Open Access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/), which permits unrestricted use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, provided the original work is properly cited.
Keywords: Extracellular polymeric substances, moisturizer, mycosporine-like amino acid, personal care products, scytonemin, sunscreen
UCL classification: UCL
UCL > Provost and Vice Provost Offices > School of Life and Medical Sciences
UCL > Provost and Vice Provost Offices > School of Life and Medical Sciences > Faculty of Life Sciences
UCL > Provost and Vice Provost Offices > School of Life and Medical Sciences > Faculty of Life Sciences > Div of Biosciences
UCL > Provost and Vice Provost Offices > School of Life and Medical Sciences > Faculty of Life Sciences > Div of Biosciences > Structural and Molecular Biology
URI: https://discovery.ucl.ac.uk/id/eprint/1549705
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