Surface active agents (SAAs) are molecules with the capacity to adsorb to solid surfaces and/or fluid interfaces, a property that allows them to act as multifunctional ingredients (e.g., wetting and dispersion agents, emulsifiers, foaming and anti-foaming agents, lubricants, etc.) in a widerange of the consumer products of various industrial sectors (e.g., pharmaceuticals, cosmetics, personal care, detergents, food, etc.). Given their widespread utilization, there is a continuously growing interest to explore their role in consumer products (relevant to promoting human health) and how such information can be utilized in order to synthesize better chemical derivatives. In this review article, weaimed to provide updated information on synthetic and biological (biosurfactants) SAAs and their health-promoting properties (e.g., anti-microbial, anti-oxidant, anti-viral, anti-inflammatory, anti-cancer and anti-aging) in an attempt to better define some of the underlying mechanism(s) by which they exert such properties.

Surface active agents (SAAs), currently used in modern industry, are synthetic chemicals produced from non-renewable sources, with potential toxic impacts on humans and the environment. Thus, there is an increased interest for the identification and utilization of natural derived SAAs. As such, the marine environment is considered a promising source of biosurfactants with low toxicity, environmental compatibility, and biodegradation compared to their synthetic counterparts. MARISURF is a Horizon 2020 EU-funded project aiming to identify and functionally characterize SAAs, derived from a unique marine bacterial collection, towards commercial exploitation. Specifically, rhamnolipids produced by Marinobacter MCTG107b and Pseudomonas MCTG214(3b1) strains were previously identified and characterized while currently their toxicity profile was assessed by utilizing well-established methodologies. Our results showed a lack of cytotoxicity in in vitro models of human skin and liver as indicated by alamar blue and propidium iodide assays. Additionally, the use of the single gel electrophoresis assay, under oxidative stress conditions, revealed absence of any significant mutagenic/anti-mutagenic potential. Finally, both 2,2’-azino-bis (3-ethylbenzothiazoline-6-sulphonicacid) (ABTS) and 2,2-diphenyl-1-picrylhydrazyl radical (DPPH) cell-free assays, revealed no significant anti-oxidant capacity for neither of the tested compounds. Consequently, the absence of significant cytotoxicity and/or mutagenicity justifies their commercial exploitation and potential development into industrial end-user applications as natural and environmentally friendly biosurfactants.

Surface active agents are characterized for their capacity to adsorb to fluid and solid-water interfaces. They can be classified as surfactants and emulsifiers based on their molecular weight (MW) and properties. Over the years, the chemical surfactant industry has been rapidly increasing to meet consumer demands. Consequently, such a boost has led to the search for more sustainable and biodegradable alternatives, as chemical surfactants are non-biodegradable, thus causing an adverse effect on the environment. To these ends, many microbial and/or marine-derived molecules have been shown to possess various biological properties that could allow manufacturers to make additional health-promoting claims for their products. Our aim, in this review article, is to provide up to date information of critical health-promoting properties of these molecules and their use in blue-based biotechnology (i.e., biotechnology using aquatic organisms) with a focus on food, cosmetic and pharmaceutical/biomedical applications.

Silibinin, a diastereoisomeric mixture extracted from Silybum marianum L, with established anti-prostate cancer activity, has been associated with considerable anti-neoplastic ability, in a variety of human cancer types, through interference with the epigenetic machinery. In prostate carcinoma (PCa), high expression of polycomb repressive complex 1 (PRC1) and 2 (PRC2) members, that belong to polycomb group (PcG) proteins, is associated with transcriptional silencing of tumor suppressor genes through histone modifications and chromatin condensation. Our previous results revealed that silibinin reduced the expression levels of PRC2 complex members (EZH2, EED, SUZ12), an ability accompanied by increased H3K27me3 marks. In the current report, treatment of DU145 and PC3 prostate cancer cells with clinically-achievable concentrations (25-75μg/mL) of silibinin, resulted in reduced protein expression levels of PRC1 complex members (RING1a, RING1b and BMI1), in a dose-dependent manner, as obtained from western blot analysis. Next, human epigenetic chromatin modification enzymes-focused DNA microarray and real-time quantitative reverse transcription-PCR (qRT-PCR) analyses, revealed that silibinin modulated differentially the gene expression levels of important enzymes, related with the pathophysiology of the disease, that function at the epigenetic level. Specifically, significant alterations were observed in the expression profile of enzymes associated with gene expression regulation through modification of chromatin configuration, including family members of: i) histone methyltransferases, ii) histone acetyl-transferases, iii) histone demethylases and iv) histone deacetylases along with enzymes inducing gene silencing (via DNA methylation) and regulation of cell cycle progression. Our results suggest that the anticancer activity of silibinin could be partially mediated by the disruption of central processes in chromatin configuration-remodeling and alteration of enzymes of the epigenomic landscape that regulate prostate cancer progression.

Histone acetylation involves the addition of acetyl groups to specific amino acid residues. This chemical histone modification is broadly divided into two types – acetylation of the amino group found on the side chain of internal lysine residues (lysine acetylation) or acetylation of the α-amino group at the N-terminal amino acid residue (N-terminal acetylation). Although the former modification is considered a classic epigenetic mark, the biological importance of N-terminal acetylation has been mostly overlooked in the past, despite its widespread occurrence and evolutionary conservation. However, recent studies have now conclusively demonstrated that histone N-terminal acetylation impacts important cellular processes, such as controlling gene expression and chromatin function, and thus ultimately affecting biological phenotypes, such as cellular ageing, metabolic rewiring and cancer. In this Review, we provide a summary of the literature, highlighting current knowledge on the function of this modification, as well as allude to open questions we expect to be the focus of future research on histone N-terminal acetylation.