MICROBIOME BEAUTY
The challenge of balancing the microbiota For more than 10 years, exploration of the microbiota has been growing in scientific communities with the creation of the human microbiome project. It’s now time for a waypoint in this discovery. Anne-Sophie Dutailly, wesource product manager, Seppic beauty care, explores the changing vision on the microbiota.
F
or the cosmetics industry, the microbiota is associated with a holistic approach to beauty, where studies on the body and its microbiota have become central to health and well-being. The development of future products takes into account respect for the skin microbiota and a new approach to certain skin disorders such as dandruff and oily, dry or sensitive skin. Skin microbiome science is currently in its infancy and almost no standard models exist. Yet it is known that an imbalance in skin microbiota is associated with three major disorders: 1. dry skin 2. skin itching/redness 3. oily skin.
skin disorders, and the many related visible side effects. The only thing we can be sure of is that any modification on one targeted bacteria or mould will have an impact on the entire fragile ecosystem. Most scientific studies are interested in analysing the diversity of the microbiota. However, we could question the relevance of these studies knowing the fickleness of the microbiome. In vitro models are very limited given the complexity of the microbiota, the difficulty of co-cultivating several bacteria and controlling their interaction with skin models.
However, it is still unclear if unbalanced microbiota could be the cause of these
constant evolution, wesource, the Seppic brand of active ingredients, took up the
Figure 1: Subligana regulation of the harmful effects of Cutibacterium acnes secretome
34
JANUARY 2021 // WWW.PHARMACOS.CO.ZA
MILD MICROBIOTA BALANCE Aware of all the scientific limits and
challenge of attaining microbiota balance with alternative solutions. In partnership with external providers, we set up an in vitro innovative model aimed at studying the influence of the Cutibacterium acnes secretome on the barrier function of reconstructed epidermis. The concept was to measure the influence of one of our actives, Subligana, an extract of the Harungana madagascariensis tree, on the secretome issued by the bacteria and its effect on the skin without altering the C. acnes. It appeared that the C. acnes secretome had a deleterious effect on skin barrier and skin cohesion which Subligana was able to counteract by providing up to 65% protection (see Figure 1). Subligana has shown good properties on volunteers as it combines a soothing, antioxidant effect and visibly reduces imperfections, whilst decreasing whiteheads by 34% and blackheads by 37%. It additionally offers pore minimising benefits for an improved skin texture, which was perceived by 85% of the volunteers as compared to the benchmark at 55%. A second in vitro model made it possible to study the biofilm of Staphylococcus aureus in the presence of Staphylococcus epidermidis on a reconstructed epidermis. The pathologies associated with S. aureus range from minor infections to invasive and potentially dangerous diseases. S. aureus infections of the skin, associated with skin disorders such as atopic dermatitis, occur in part through the development of a biofilm. In
