Abstract
Antioxidant, antibacterial and UV protective activities of two pigments extracted from mangrove soil isolates were analysed for their applications as ingredients in sunscreen formulations. Through biochemical characterization, the isolates were tentatively identified as belonging to the Flavobacterium sp. and Brevibacterium sp. UV visible spectral characterization of the pigments indicated presence of carotenoids. The orange pigment exhibited Sun Protection factor (SPF) value of 5.3 while the yellow pigment SPF was found to be 2.60. Both isolates as well as their pigments revealed tolerance to UVA-B radiation and to UVC radiation, to comparatively lesser extent. Yellow pigment exhibited good antibacterial activity with maximum effect on Escherichia coli, Corynebacterium diptheriae and Staphylococcus aureus. Both pigments were capable of reducing DPPH radical with % DPPH inhibition of 52.36% (orange pigment) and 40.1% (yellow pigment). These findings suggest that both pigments show promise of making excellent natural components of cosmetic formulations, especially sunscreens.
Highlights
The size of India’s cosmetic market is predicted to reach $20 billion by 2025 and India will be the largest consumer with 5% market share in the global beauty sector (Anand, 2017)
The test bacterial strains used for antibacterial analysis of pigments were in-house cultures originally obtained from Microbial Culture Collection (MCC), Pune and stored at -80 oC in BHI (Brain Heart Infusion) broth supplemented with 10% glycerol
Based on the colony characteristics, cell morphology and biochemical properties shown in Table II, the isolates were tentatively identified as belonging to the Flavobacterium sp. (P1) and Brevibacterium sp. (P3)
Summary
The size of India’s cosmetic market is predicted to reach $20 billion by 2025 and India will be the largest consumer with 5% market share in the global beauty sector (Anand, 2017). Pigments and colours go hand in hand with cosmetics and personal care products. Nail enamels, hair dyes to facial creams, sunscreens, soaps and face washes, pigments are used in all personal care products. Pigments with additional properties are required in sunscreen formulations. Titanium dioxide or zinc oxide is used for manufacturing white colour cosmetic products and are key ingredients in most of the sunscreen formulations due to their UV light filtering properties. While protection of human skin from UV radiation is the primary requisite of sunscreen ingredients, adverse effects like contact sensitivity and oestrogenecity (Ishihashi, et al, 2003) show that there is a clear need for seeking safer alternatives. While bacterial pigments serve various purposes in their producers, protection from harmful UV radiation is an important function. Bacteria produce a wide range of pigments such as carotenoids, melanin, violacein, prodigiosin, monascin, pyocyanin, actinorhodin, and zeaxanthin (Narsing, Xiao, Li, 2017)
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