SKIN PROTECTION 91


Research: a new active ingredient for skin microbiota protection This industrial study aims at presenting a new development in the personal care field: an active ingredient that can act as a balancer of microbiota, preventing its dysbiosis and maintaining its natural composition.


Roelmi HPC, the Italian producer of active & functional ingredients for Health & Personal Care markets, has developed, from a patented fermentation process, a pure molecule which is naturally found in extremophilic microorganisms living in strong environmental conditions. Ectoine is globally known as an amino acid derivative, which allows bacteria that produce it to equilibrate the environment around and to protect them by external stresses (strong UV rays, chemical agents…). Ectoine is an osmolyte first isolated by Galinski and colleagues from the bacterium Ectothiorhodospira halochloris found in Wadi Natrun (Egypt),that mainly balances the extracellular environment salt concentration.6 Starting from this great innovation of


Nature, Roelmi HPC has standardised and industrialised the production of this molecule by fermentation, obtaining a balancer of skin’s microenvironment, that allows an equilibrium of skin microbiota living in that specific site. Moving from the Nature to our skin, the rebalance of external environmental aggression make the skin a more comfortable place for the microbiota to live in, maintaining their natural homeostasis and composition. As shown before, an equilibrate skin microbiota is also a prevention of potential skin disorders and a better condition for the skin for its normal function. ÆCTive®


(INCI: Ectoin) from Roelmi HPC


is a pure molecule, from a non GMO bacterial strain, showing peculiar activity against environmental stresses. This active ingredient is ideal for skin microbiota to survive, proliferate and protect the skin as it balances the skin microenvironment and helps skin recovery from acute stress. Independent from singular human


microbiota composition, this innovation is able to be effective on whatever skin type, as its first target is the skin microenvironment and not the single bacterial species. The ingredient is, therefore, the guardian of skin complexion protecting the balance of your Finger- Printed Microbiota Biodiversity. Roelmi HPC has a pending patent on Ectoine application for the prevention of skin microbiota dysbiosis (EP18207080).


Development: evidence of efficacy The capability of the cosmetic active to contribute to the maintenance of cell homeostasis (cell viability and cell


September 2019 25 +31.6% 20 15 10 5 0 CRT - CRT + Figure 3: Antimicrobial defence on cell culture.


metabolism) after osmostress induction has been evaluated by an in vitro test. Human skin keratinocytes were treated with the cosmetic active at 3 concentrations (chosen after a preliminary cytotoxicity test). Different osmostress conditions have been induced: l By adding salt to the cell culture medium (to simulate marine environment)


l By adding chlorine to the cell culture medium (to simulate swimming pool environment)


l By adding artificial sweat to the cell culture medium and by moderately raising the temperature (to simulate the sweating conditions).


In all the conditions, cell viability and cell metabolism was measured, the same evaluations were performed on untreated negative control condition. The results were expressed as protection activity both for the parameters cell viability (%) and cell metabolism (total protein dosage), calculated as difference in the experimental conditions with and without active ingredient treatment. Results confirmed that the active


ingredient treatment has generally protected and improved cell viability and cell metabolism during osmostress induction.


Dosed at 1%, the ingredient shows better cells defence against osmotic stresses and an increase of cell metabolism, by balancing the cells’ external environment. It could represent a good help for sensitive skins, whose dysbiosis is easily caused by stresses (sweat, swimming pool water, sea water…). In fact, the balancing activity against environmental changes, would be of help both for skin cells and for the microbiota living on the skin, that could be altered by the osmostress. The promotion of general homeostatic conditions against external and extreme stresses could lead to a general better status of skin microbiota,


definitely driving to a healthier skin. Another in vitro study has been


performed on cells to evaluate the capability of the active ingredient to promote the synthesis of antimicrobial peptides, that contribute to the skin’s antimicrobial defence when a growth in numbers of pathogens occurs. Human skin keratinocytes were treated with the cosmetic active at 3 concentrations (chosen after a preliminary cytotoxicity test) for 48 hours and with LPS


(Lipopolysaccharides) for the subsequent 24 hours. In all the conditions β-Defensin 1 (β-DF1) expression was measured by ELISA assay. The same evaluations were performed on untreated negative control condition (CTR-) and positive control condition (cells treated with only LPS, CTR+). The results were expressed as β –DF1 (pg/ml) and as variation vs CTRs. The ingredient enhanced the surface


expression of ß-Defensin peptides in cells treated with LPS, resulting in a protective effect, by balancing cells external environment. The ß-Defensin expression is further increased respect to CTR+. Starting from the in vitro results, a step


forward has been done in vivo, where the active ingredient interacts with the complex system of the skin, made of human cells, tissues and structures together with microbiota microorganisms.


A double blind randomized study has been performed to evaluate the capacity of the ingredient in maintaining the balance of skin microbiota, even though skin was exposed to strong environmental conditions. A clinical-instrumental study was carried out with a face cream placebo Vs cream with 1% active ingredient on 20 healthy Chinese subjects, aged between 18 and 80 years old, living in Beijing. This particular environmental conditions were characterised by high level of pollution that could negatively interact with the skin


PERSONAL CARE ASIA PACIFIC 1% ÆCTive 5% ÆCTive


ß DF1 (pg/ml)


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