5-methyl Furfural Reduces the Production of Malodors by Inhibiting Sodium l-lactate Fermentation of Staphylococcus epidermidis: Implication for Deodorants Targeting the Fermenting Skin Microbiome.

Manish Kumar,Binderiya Myagmardoloonjin,Indira Putri Negari,Sunita Keshari,Chun-Ming Huang

doi:10.3390/microorganisms7080239

Manish Kumar, Binderiya Myagmardoloonjin + Show 3 more

Open Access

https://doi.org/10.3390/microorganisms7080239

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Abstract

Staphylococcus epidermidis (S. epidermidis) is a common bacterial colonizer on the surface of human skin. Lactate is a natural constituent of skin. Here, we reveal that S. epidermidis used sodium l-lactate as a carbon source to undergo fermentation and yield malodors detected by gas colorimetric tubes. Several furan compounds such as furfural originating from the fermentation metabolites play a role in the negative feedback regulation of the fermentation process. The 5-methyl furfural (5MF), a furfural analog, was selected as an inhibitor of sodium l-lactate fermentation of S. epidermidis via inhibition of acetolactate synthase (ALS). S. epidermidis treated with 5MF lost its ability to produce malodors, demonstrating the feasibility of using 5MF as an ingredient in deodorants targeting malodor-causing bacteria in the skin microbiome.

Highlights

Studies have shown that body odors in humans are mainly derived by the bacterial decomposition of non-odorous constituents of sweats such as fatty acids, branched-chain aliphatic amino acids, glycerol, and lactic acid originated from apocrine, eccrine and sebaceous glands [1,2,3,4]
Lactate in human skin may be a natural carbon source to induce the fermentation of bacteria in the skin microbiome
Lactate fermentation of skin bacteria could be a cause of body malodors

Summary

Introduction

Studies have shown that body odors in humans are mainly derived by the bacterial decomposition of non-odorous constituents of sweats such as fatty acids, branched-chain aliphatic amino acids, glycerol, and lactic acid originated from apocrine, eccrine and sebaceous glands [1,2,3,4]. Human sweat mostly composed of Staphylococcus spp., Cutibacterium spp., and Corynebacreium spp., there distribution varies in different age groups. The number of Staphylococcus hominis (S. hominis) is found to be significantly higher in children’s underarm than teenagers. Staphylococcus epidermidis (S. epidermidis) exhibits the strong underarm malodor in both age groups [5]. 2,3-butanedione, is a by-product of lactate, a major sweat constituent causing strong malodor and mostly produced by Staphylococcus spp., whereas no diacetyl production was detected from Corynebacterium spp. under experimental condition [6]. Cutibacterium spp. such as Cutibacterium avidum (C. avidum) predominantly causes malodor in underarm area, whereas, S. epidermidis is responsible for production of malodor in different parts of human skin [1,4,5,7,8]

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