Microbial Biosurfactants in Cosmetic and Personal Skincare Pharmaceutical Formulations

Abstract

Cosmetic and personal care products are globally used and often applied directly on the human skin. According to a recent survey in Europe, the market value of cosmetic and personal care products in Western Europe reached about 84 billion euros in 2018 and are predicted to increase by approximately 6% by the end of 2020. With these significant sums of money spent annually on cosmetic and personal care products, along with chemical surfactants being the main ingredient in a number of their formulations, of which many have been reported to have the potential to cause detrimental effects such as allergic reactions and skin irritations to the human skin; hence, the need for the replacement of chemical surfactants with other compounds that would have less or no negative effects on skin health. Biosurfactants (surfactants of biological origin) have exhibited great potential such as lower toxicity, skin compatibility, protection and surface moisturizing effects which are key components for an effective skincare routine. This review discusses the antimicrobial, skin surface moisturizing and low toxicity properties of glycolipid and lipopeptide biosurfactants which could make them suitable substitutes for chemical surfactants in current cosmetic and personal skincare pharmaceutical formulations. Finally, we discuss some challenges and possible solutions for biosurfactant applications.

Toxicity Profiling of Biosurfactants Produced by Novel Marine Bacterial Strains

“…This could be explained on the basis that biosurfactants are derived from biological systems, thus increased biological toxicity would have been detrimental for the organisms producing them. Biosurfactants are in general considered promising replacements of synthetic SAAs due to their low toxicity and ecotoxicity, high biodegradability and compatibility with biological systems and their excellent surface active properties [ 9 , 33 , 34 ]. Sodium lauryl sulfate (SLS), another anionic synthetic surfactant, has been shown to induce the levels of intracellular ROS in HaCaT and reconstructed human epidermal equivalent models by interacting with cellular membranes, therefore suggesting a potent cause for increased skin roughness in response to SLS exposure [ 35 ].…”

Recent Advances in Biomedical, Therapeutic and Pharmaceutical Applications of Microbial Surfactants

“…In addition to wound healing, BSs could be suitable substitutes for chemical surfactants in current cosmetic and personal skincare pharmaceutical formulations. Indeed, in addition to their antimicrobial and surface moisturizing effects, BSs have lower toxicity and improved skin compatibility than the currently used chemical compounds [ 171 ].…”

Inhibitory Effects of Lipopeptides and Glycolipids on C. albicans–Staphylococcus spp. Dual-Species Biofilms

“…Focusing on this goal, biosurfactants (BSs) have been suggested as a new group of antimicrobial/anti-biofilm biocompatible compounds useful in a wide range of pharmaceutical and biomedical applications (Diaz De Rienzo et al, 2014;Elshikh et al, 2017;Lydon et al, 2017;Juma et al, 2020). BSs are amphiphilic molecules, produced by a wide group of microorganisms, which partition at and alter the physicalchemical conditions of the interfaces and are characterized by interesting biological activities like antimicrobial, anti-adhesive, and anti-biofilm properties (Banat et al, 2014;Simms et al, 2020). BSs ability to destabilize the integrity and permeability of cell membranes and to modify surface properties of biomaterials, affecting microbial vitality and adhesion, limiting biofilm formation, or reducing the structural integrity of existing biofilms have been reported (Fracchia et al, 2015(Fracchia et al, , 2019Satpute et al, 2016).…”