Inulin as an effectiveness and safe ingredient in cosmetics

Inulin: Unveiling its potential as a multifaceted biopolymer in prebiotics, drug delivery, and therapeutics

In recent years, inulin has gained much attention as a promising multifunctional natural biopolymer with numerous applications in drug delivery, prebiotics, and therapeutics. It reveals a multifaceted biopolymer with transformative implications by elucidating the intricate interplay between inulin and the host, microbiome, and therapeutic agents. Their flexible structure, exceptional targetability, biocompatibility, inherent ability to control release behavior, tunable degradation kinetics, and protective ability make them outstanding carriers in healthcare and biomedicine. USFDA has approved Inulin as a nutritional dietary supplement for infants. The possible applications of inulin in biomedicine research inspired by nature are presented. The therapeutic potential of inulin goes beyond its role in prebiotics and drug delivery. Recently, significant research efforts have been made towards inulin's anti-inflammatory, antioxidant, and immunomodulatory properties for their potential applications in treating various chronic diseases. Moreover, its ability to reduce inflammation and modulate immune responses opens new avenues for treating conditions such as autoimmune disorders and gastrointestinal ailments. This review will attempt to illustrate the inulin's numerous and interconnected roles, shedding light on its critical contributions to the advancement of healthcare and biomedicine and its recent advancement in therapeutics, and conclude by taking valuable insights into the prospects and opportunities of inulin.

Exploring the potential of Halomonas levan and its derivatives as active ingredients in cosmeceutical and skin regenerating formulations

Demand on natural products that contain biological ingredients mimicking growth factors and cytokines made natural polysaccharides popular in pharmaceutical and cosmetic industries. Levan is the β-(2-6) linked, nontoxic, biocompatible, water-soluble, film former fructan polymer that has diverse applications in pharmacy and cosmeceutical industries with its moisturizing, whitening, anti-irritant, anti-aging and slimming activities. Driven by the limited reports on few structurally similar levan polymers, this study presents the first systematic investigation on the effects of structurally different extremophilic Halomonas levan polysaccharides on human skin epidermis cells. In-vitro experiments with microbially produced linear Halomonas levan (HL), its hydrolyzed, (hHL) and sulfonated (ShHL) derivatives as well as enzymatically produced branched levan (EL) revealed increased keratinocyte and fibroblast proliferation (113-118 %), improved skin barrier function through induced expressions of involucrin (2.0 and 6.43 fold changes for HL and EL) and filaggrin (1.74 and 3.89 fold changes for hHL and ShHL) genes and increased type I collagen (2.63 for ShHL) and hyaluronan synthase 3 (1.41 for HL) gene expressions together with fast wound healing ability within 24 h (100 %, HL) on 2D wound models clearly showed that HL and its derivatives have high potential to be used as natural active ingredients in cosmeceutical and skin regenerating formulations.

Health Benefits of Key Constituents in Cichorium intybus L

The genus Cichorium (Asteraceae) that originates from the Mediterranean area consists of six species (Cichorium intybus, Cichorium frisee, Cichorium endivia, Cichorium grouse, Cichorium chico and Cichorium pumilum). Cichorium intybus L., commonly known as chicory, has a rich history of being known as a medicinal plant and coffee substitute. A variety of key constituents in chicory play important roles as antioxidant agents. The herb is also used as a forage plant for animals. This review highlights the bioactive composition of C. intybus L. and summarizes the antioxidant activity associated with the presence of inulin, caffeic acid derivatives, ferrulic acid, caftaric acid, chicoric acid, chlorogenic and isochlorogenic acids, dicaffeoyl tartaric acid, sugars, proteins, hydroxycoumarins, flavonoids and sesquiterpene lactones. It also covers the plant's occurrence, agriculture improvement, natural biosynthesis, geographical distribution and waste valorization.

Evaluation of the Antioxidant, Cytoprotective and Antityrosinase Effects of Schisandra chinensis Extracts and Their Applicability in Skin Care Product

Plant extracts have been widely used for skin care for many centuries, and nowadays, they are commonly applied for the development and enrichment of new cosmetic preparations. The present study aimed the assessment of the biological activity of aqueous Schisandra chinensis extracts as a potential ingredient of skin care products. The aspects studied involved the ability to neutralize free radicals, impact on viability and metabolism of keratinocytes, as well as tyrosinase inhibitory potential. Our study showed that aqueous S. chinensis extracts have a positive effect on keratinocyte growth and have high antioxidant potential and strong tyrosinase inhibitory activity. UPLC-MS analysis revealed that three groups of phenolic compounds were predominant in the analyzed extract, including lignans, phenolic acids and flavonoids and protocatechiuc and p-coumaryl quinic acids were predominant. Moreover, microwave-assisted extraction, followed by heat reflux extraction, was the most effective for extracting polyphenols. Furthermore, a prototypical natural body washes gel formulation containing the previously prepared extracts was developed. The irritation potential and viscosity were assessed for each of the formulations. The study demonstrated that the addition of these extracts to body wash gel formulations has a positive effect on their quality and may contribute to a decrease in skin irritation. In summary, S. chinensis aqueous extracts can be seen as an innovative ingredient useful in the cosmetic and pharmaceutical industry.

Skincare application of medicinal plant polysaccharides - A review

Polysaccharides are macromolecules with important inherent properties and potential biotechnological applications. These complex carbohydrates exist throughout nature, especially in plants, from which they can be obtained with high yields. Different extraction and purification methods may affect the structure of polysaccharides and, due to the close relationship between structure and function, modify their biological activities. One of the possible applications of these polysaccharides is acting on the skin, which is the largest organ in the human body and can be aged by intrinsic and extrinsic processes. Skincare has been gaining worldwide attention not only to prevent diseases but also to promote rejuvenation in aesthetic treatments. In this review, we discussed the polysaccharides obtained from plants and their innovative potential for skin applications, for example as wound-healing, antimicrobial, antioxidant and anti-inflammatory, antitumoral, and anti-aging compounds.

The potential prebiotic effect of 2-Butyloctanol on the human axillary microbiome

OBJECTIVE

The human axilla is colonized by a wide array of microorganisms that contribute to the generation of body odour. Traditional antiperspirant/deodorant products are used to reduce perspiration in the axillary region and to treat or prevent the growth of bacteria in this region, thereby reducing or eliminating body odour. However, they may also compromise the axillary microbiome balance. The personal care industry has been seeking new ingredients, such as prebiotics or probiotics, to maintain a healthy balance of the skin microbiome by inhibiting odour-causing bacteria, whilst maintaining and promoting the growth of good bacteria. The aim of this study was to investigate the prebiotic effect of a skin-care ingredient, 2-butyloctanol, on the human axillary microbiome.

METHODS

An in vitro growth inhibition/promotion assay was performed to test whether 2-butyloctanol inhibited or promoted skin bacterial growth. The impact of 2-butyloctanol on the axillary microbiome was also investigated in a human clinical study using 16S rRNA gene sequencing.

RESULTS

In-vitro testing showed that 2-butyloctanol significantly inhibited the growth of corynebacteria at concentrations of 0.64%, 2.56% and 5.12%, whilst the growth of Staphylococcus epidermidis was maintained at the same concentrations. The impact of 2-butyloctanol on the axillary microbiome was also validated in a human clinical study. A deodorant roll-on product containing 3% of 2-butyloctanol significantly reduced the relative abundance of corynebacteria, whilst increasing the relative abundance of Staphylococcus and the ratio of Staphylococcus to corynebacteria after four weeks of application, whilst the placebo showed no significant change.

CONCLUSION

For the first time, it was demonstrated that 2-butyloctanol had a potential prebiotic effect on the human underarm microbiome in inhibiting odour-causing Corynebacterium, whilst maintaining and promoting skin-friendly Staphylococcus in both in-vitro and in-vivo studies. Therefore, 2-butyloctanol could be used as a potential prebiotic ingredient in personal care products for underarm microbiome protection.

Improvement of Atopic Dermatitis by Synbiotic Baths

Atopic dermatitis (AD) is a widespread chronic inflammatory dermatologic disorder. This randomized, double-blind study aims to evaluate the effect of synbiotic baths with a defined mixture of six viable lactic acid bacteria (LAB) and prebiotics, without bacteria and prebiotics and placebo baths without prebiotics and bacteria to treat AD patients over a period of 14 days. Therefore, AD patients were randomly assigned into three groups using synbiotic (n = 7), prebiotics (n = 8) or placebo baths (n = 7). Severity of AD was evaluated over time by using severity scoring of atopic dermatitis (SCORAD) and by patient questionnaires. In addition, microbiome on eczematous skin surface was sampled by swaps from each patient before the bath treatment, and after 9, 11 and 14 days of bath treatment. Thereafter, nucleic acids were extracted and the bacterial 16S rRNA gene was amplified via PCR for subsequent amplicon sequencing. Results showed a significantly reduced SCORAD over time of AD patients after daily synbiotic or prebiotic baths. Moreover, AD patients after daily synbiotic baths had a significantly improved pruritus and skin dryness and their bacterial microbiome was enriched by LAB. Taken together, a synbiotic bath is a promising topical skin application to alleviate AD.

Moringa oleifera L. Extracts as Bioactive Ingredients That Increase Safety of Body Wash Cosmetics

The work attempts to obtain a multifunctional plant extract derived from Moringa tree leaves. Obtained results indicate a strong antioxidant potential of the tested extracts. It was shown that Moringa oleifera leaf extract is a rich source of flavonoid and phenolic compounds. Furthermore, it shows a strong antioxidant activity by scavenging free radicals. In vitro toxicity studies showed that the tested extracts in concentrations up to 5% showed a positive effect on cell proliferation and metabolism and may contribute to the reduction of oxidative stress in cells. It was noted that the tested model formulation of cosmetic (1% SCS) with the addition of different types of extracts might contribute to the reduction of skin irritation and improve the safety of the product.