A novel microbial technique for producing high‐quality sophorolipids from horse oil suitable for cosmetic applications

Abstract

SummaryHorse oil contains linoleic, palmitoleic and unsaturated fatty acids that are similar to those in human skin, and may therefore be an ideal substance from which to isolate biosurfactants for cosmetic products to improve human skin quality. Herein, an innovative approach was developed to synthesise sophorolipids from horse oil by hydrolysis, followed by fermentation using the yeast Candida bombicola. The yield of sophorolipids from direct fermentation of horse oil and hydrolysed horse oil was 40.6 ± 1.3 g l−1 and 58.4 ± 1.8 g l−1 respectively. To further increase the yield, 30–40 g l−1 glucose was added in a fed‐batch fermentation process to maintain the pH between 4.0 and 4.5, resulting in a conversion yield of 71.7 ± 0.8 g l−1. The purity and structure of the synthesised sophorolipids were analysed by ultra‐performance liquid chromatography‐mass spectrometry and nuclear magnetic resonance. An in vitro human dermal fibroblast model was used as a surrogate for human skin to measure elastase inhibition activity. Antiwrinkle properties of isolated sophorolipids were better than those of horse oil or hydrolysed horse oil in several in vitro assays. Furthermore, no cytotoxicity was observed at a concentration of 50 μg ml−1, and wound‐healing capacity was evident in a cell culture model. Additionally, the synthesised sophorolipids attenuated lipopolysaccharide‐induced expression of inflammatory cytokines in macrophages, and efficiently inhibited several strains of bacteria and yeast. In conclusion, fed‐batch fermentation of hydrolysed horse oil is a novel and efficient approach for producing high‐quality and high‐yield sophorolipids that exhibit great potential as cosmetic ingredients.

Microbial Biosurfactants in Cosmetic and Personal Skincare Pharmaceutical Formulations

“…Moreover, several researchers have reported that biosurfactants such as sophorolipids, rhamnolipids, MELs and surfactin are less toxic to mammalian cells compared to their chemical counterparts, therefore, confirming their safety for use. Cytotoxicity and skin irritancy studies of several biosurfactants have been carried out using both in vivo and in vitro models [ 23 , 82 , 139 , 140 ]. However, in recent decades, much emphasis has been placed on in vitro studies, which has led to the development of 3D skin models that have a well-layered cellular structure and barrier functions similar to human skin [ 141 ].…”

“…Sophorolipids synthesized by horse oil hydrolysis had no significant toxicity effect at up to 50 µg/mL against fibroblastic cell lines when cell viability was measured using the thiazolyl blue tetrazolium bromide (MTT) assay. Interestingly, at low concentrations (0.1 µg/mL), sophorolipids demonstrated a stimulatory effect on the fibroblastic cells [ 140 ]. Palmitoleic, linoleic and unsaturated fatty acids are the major compounds in horse oil, which are similar to those on skin.…”

Microbial Surfactants: The Next Generation Multifunctional Biomolecules for Diverse Applications

“…Apart from the petroleum industry, environmental remediation and agriculture, biosurfactants are used in other industries such as laundry detergents, medical/pharmaceuticals, food industry, textile, paint, leather, paper, mining, nanotechnology, bioprocessing, and recently in energy-saving technology [20,25,26,38,[170][171][172][173][174][175][176][177][178][179][180][181][182][183][184][185]. The multifunctionality and application versatility lies in their properties (surface and interfacial tension reducing ability, low CMC, wettability, specificity, antimicrobial activity) and their advantages (environmental friendliness, biodegradability, biocompatibility, low toxicity, ease of production, chemical diversity and cost-effectiveness).…”

“…The biosurfactant at an alkaline pH lowers the energy required for cleaving the microstructure of limestone. Also, biosurfactants have been proved to have potential in metallic nanoparticle synthesis [171]. Eswari et al [193] synthesized silver nanoparticles from AgNO3 using surfactin from Bacillus subtilis.…”

“…Application of biosurfactants in cosmetics is due to their low irritancy, cytoprotective effect, anti-ageing, acts like an antioxidant, wettability, moisturizing properties, healing and skin toning features [7,171,211] Laundry detergents Sophorolipids MEL…”