The Potential of Marine Resources in Cosmetics

Abstract

The Ocean is a continuous body of saltwater that covers more than 70 percent of the Earth's surface. Despite the fact that oceanic habitats exhibit chemical and physical properties that make certain ocean zones suitable or unsuitable places for different species to live, the chemical (salinity and dissolved gases) and physical (temperature, density, buoyancy, waves, tides, and currents) properties of ocean water are delicately intermingled which produce one of the most self-sustaining life support systems on earth. This unique characteristic has made the marine environment an untapped source of bioactive natural products with unique structural and chemical features. Although many marine-derived compounds have been explored for their potential in pharmaceutical industry and some of which are already on the market, these molecules are still underexplored for natural cosmetics when compared to plant-derived compounds. However, recently many cosmetic firms have turned their attention to the sea to obtain several kinds of marine-derived compounds for cosmetic ingredients such as moisturizer, anti-ageing, photoprotection and skin whitening agents. With more research on the small molecules, biopolymers and enzymes from the marine environment, it is expected that the era of "blue cosmetics" will be dominating this sector very soon.

Zooceuticals and Cosmetic Ingredients Derived from Animals

“…Following the epidemic of bovine spongiform encephalopathy (BSE), especially for cattle (mad cow disease), but also after transmissible spongiform encephalopathy (TSE), and avian and swine influences, many producers have chosen to resort to plant or synthetic analogs of animal derivatives in order not to run into problems regarding the safety of raw materials to be used as ingredients in cosmetic products [41].…”

Marine Compounds for Melanoma Treatment and Prevention

“…Scytonemin inhibits a serine/threonine kinase, named Polo-like Kinase 1, which plays a key role in regulating the G2/M transition in the cell cycle [ 106 ]. Carotenoids are also excellent allies for the prevention of diseases due to UV solar radiation and have applications in the healthcare and nutraceutical industry, for skin protection, anti-aging and as sunscreens, as they are powerful antioxidants and scavenging agents [ 107 , 108 , 109 ]. Microalgae are known as a valuable source of carotenoids [ 110 ].…”

Enigmatic Microalgae from Aeroterrestrial and Extreme Habitats in Cosmetics: The Potential of the Untapped Natural Sources

“…Oxidative DNA damage and oxidative stress are known to result in wide range of pathological disorders and are associated with aging processes [32]. Skin aging in particular is a complex process caused by various stressors (besides the intrinsic, or endogenous factors) and induces many changes such as thinning, dryness, laxity, fragility, enlarged pores, hyperpigmentation, fine lines and wrinkles [33,34]. Additionally, due to the growing awareness about skin cancer enhanced by sun exposure [35] sun-protecting cosmetics represents an area of high demand [36].…”

“…Among natural products used in ingredients for skin protection, carotenoids, which are well-known as strong antioxidants and scavenging agents, have several applications as anti-aging and sunscreen compounds [6,33,39]. More than a single contribution could be attributed to these important compounds, which, besides the solar protection, are used in cosmetics as stabilizers and preservatives [6,40].…”