Marine raw materials are the future of cosmetics

A team of biotechnology experts at the Sri Venkateswara Engineering College in India emphasized in the book that marine biotechnology has great potential and is the future trend. They wrote in the book, "Marine biotechnology is a young subject that attracts attention, covering the field of vision of contemporary biology."


These experts said that the use of biotechnology to extract marine chemicals has great potential in the production of sustainable cosmetics, but the market is not only to be developed, but also faces a lot of obstacles.


Marine biotechnology refers to the use of genetic engineering techniques and different cultivation methods to mass-produce valuable compounds without affecting the marine ecological environment. Existing cultivation methods include fermentation, photosynthetic reactors and open cultivation tanks. The emerging eco-friendly concept includes biorefinery, which uses the entire biomass to produce multiple metabolites through various downstream processes. In addition, people are beginning to become interested in clean technology.


Experts in India estimate in their writings that there are currently 7 million species of life in the ocean, and only 1 million on land, so the author describes the marine environment as "giant". Marine biotechnological components extracted from marine bacteria, invertebrates, algae, fungi and other species have provided many valuable commodities so far. New applications are also being continuously extended to functional foods, medicines and cosmetics.


Due to its natural green nature, marine resources developed using marine biotechnology have great potential in the cosmetics industry. In the Indian cosmetics market alone, 51% of consumers have been looking for "green", "organic", "environmentally friendly" and "ethical" cosmetics in the past. Importantly, various compounds isolated from marine organisms show cosmetic activity, including light protection, moisturizing, anti-aging and whitening effects, and can also be used as excipients and additives in cosmetic formulations. Well-known bioactive molecules with such uses include linoleic acid, collagen, carotenoids, polysaccharides, seawater and algal mud, scytonemin and mycosporine, and gallid acid, Can be used for preservatives, essential oils, antioxidants and dyes.


However, the continued advancement of marine biotechnology is facing multiple obstacles. The author said that there is still great potential yet to be tapped in this field. One of the bottlenecks is the high cost of sampling marine organisms and the sampling process. To make progress, government involvement is necessary, not only to provide funding for exploration, innovative sampling and cultivation methods, but also to resolve territorial disputes related to the ocean. In addition, the protection of the marine, coastal and estuarine environment through legislation and promulgation of guidelines can also advance the marine biotechnology industry.