SKIN MICROBIOME
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Harnessing the power of microbiome manipulation
Morgan Drohan – Active Concepts
Multiple industries are witnessing a surge in the pursuit of self-care and the appeal of natural remedies. Enhancing overall wellbeing and energy levels can be accomplished holistically with a regimen incorporating natural supplements, vitamins, and intentional physical activities.
The rise of holistic and alternative medicine
is apparent; consumers are gravitating towards a more natural approach as the practices largely align with their own values, beliefs, and philosophical orientations towards health and life.1
An overall goal of approaching health
this way is the yearning to harmonize and balance one’s vitality with the rhythms of nature and to cultivate a lifestyle that honors the interconnectedness of all aspects of one’s being. However, how did this shift occur from traditional medicine practices to a more natural outlook? In the first decade of the 1900s, a Russian
scientist by the name of Eli Metchnikoff hypothesized that European peasants were outliving the wealthy because they were drinking fermented milk products that contained lactic acid bacteria. Credited with coining the name Lactobacillus bulgaricus, Metchnikoff was the first to suggest that supplying the gut with healthy bacteria by drinking fermented milk products could actually manipulate the gut’s microbiome and fight off harmful bacteria, thereby providing effective anti-ageing benefits. A few years later, Metchnikoff was credited
with the Nobel Prize in 1908 for his work in immunity research.2
Now, as international
institutions delve deeper into understanding the gut’s microbiome, it becomes increasingly evident that this intricate ecosystem of bacteria, fungi, viruses, and archaea plays a crucial role in overall health. However, recent research has unveiled an unexpected connection: the profound impact of gut health on skin health.
The skin-gut axis The skin and the gut are uniquely related, as they
Type
both have vital immune and neuroendocrine roles. Many gastrointestinal disorders are often associated with inflammatory skin disorders, therefore linking gastrointestinal health to skin homeostasis. Short-chain fatty acids, or SCFAs, are a result of fibre fermentation in the gut. Examples of SCFAs such as propionate,
acetate, and butyrate are believed to play a crucial role in identifying the prevalence of specific skin microbiome patterns, which then affect the body’s immune defences against skin- related issues. For example, propionic acid has been studied to exhibit antimicrobial resistance against USA300, a strain of community- associated methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus commonly associated with skin and soft tissue infections.3
TABLE 1: THE MICROORGANISMS EXAMINED AND THEIR IMPORTANCE Microorganism S. aureus
Gram-Positive
P.aeruginosa S.epidermidis Gram- Negative Gram-Positive
www.personalcaremagazine.com Importance Human opportunistic pathogen with antibiotic strains
Human opportunistic pathogen and used to study antibiotic resistance and pathogenesis
An element of normal skin microbiota, nonpathogenic, and supports dermal barrier integrity
This research on the direct correlation
between skin and gut health eventually coined the term ‘skin-gut axis’, leading to more recent research of the skin’s microbiome. If the gut microbiome can be manipulated, does that mean the same for the skin’s microbiome? Similar to how stress is one of the
contributing factors to changes in the gut’s microbiome, it is also one of the leading causes of ageing. ‘Inflammaging’, or chronic low-level inflammation, is associated with the degradation of cells, collagen, and tissue.4
As the skin
becomes more susceptible to environmental factors, such as exposure to UV, pollution and other negative influences, this inevitably increases the appearance of fine lines, wrinkles, and sagging skin. However, with the knowledge that researchers
have now of the gut and skin being so intertwined, and with the growing research of the gut’s microbiome, this inspired further research on the skin’s surface to better understand the cause of inflammaging and stressed skin. Research has shown that not only does the
skin just have a microbiome, but also it has a vast ecosystem composed of 1.8 m2 habitats.5
of diverse As this ecosystem is so diverse, it is important that the skin’s microbiome efficiently June 2024 PERSONAL CARE
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