Abstract
Cosmetics are widely used by people around the world to protect the skin from external stimuli. Consumer preference towards natural cosmetic products has increased as the synthetic cosmetic products caused adverse side effects and resulted in low absorption rate due to the chemicals’ larger molecular size. The cosmetic industry uses the term “cosmeceutical”, referring to a cosmetic product that is claimed to have medicinal or drug-like benefits. Marine algae have gained tremendous attention in cosmeceuticals. They are one of the richest marine resources considered safe and possessed negligible cytotoxicity effects on humans. Marine algae are rich in bioactive substances that have shown to exhibit strong benefits to the skin, particularly in overcoming rashes, pigmentation, aging, and cancer. The current review provides a detailed survey of the literature on cosmeceutical potentials and applications of algae as skin whitening, anti-aging, anticancer, antioxidant, anti-inflammation, and antimicrobial agents. The biological functions of algae and the underlying mechanisms of all these activities are included in this review. In addition, the challenges of using algae in cosmeceutical applications, such as the effectiveness of different extraction methods and processing, quality assurance, and regulations concerning extracts of algae in this sector were also discussed.
Highlights
Cosmeceutical industries are exploring new compounds derived from natural products due to consumers’ demand, as synthetic cosmetic products are causing adverse side effects on human
The current review focused on the importance of algae-derived compounds in cosmeceutical, scientific evidence of their commercial value, and their challenges and limitations
The current findings revealed that brown algae contributed the most in cosmeceuticals, followed by red algae, microalgae, and green algae
Summary
Cosmeceuticals are topical cosmetic-pharmaceutical hybrids which refer to a cosmetic product with active ingredients claiming to have medicinal or drug-like benefits to skin health [1,2]. Mar. Drugs 2020, 18, 323 was not effective against psoriasis and allergic contact dermatitis as a higher molecular weight of the compounds inhibits skin penetration. In 2004, the Environment California, Environmental Working Group, and Friends of the Earth issued reports on cosmetic products containing chemical ingredients that lacked safety data Some of these chemicals caused adverse effects in animal studies such as male genitalia congenital disabilities, altered pregnancy outcomes, and decreased in sperm counts [6]. Algae that are naturally exposed to oxidative stress develop defense systems that protect them against reactive oxygen species (ROS) and free radicals These compounds could be used in cosmetics to protect the cells against the adverse effects of UV radiation. These natural products are expected to become very competitive in the market due to their higher biological value, improvement in the cultivation process, and lower production cost than synthetic products
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