Issue 32, 2021, Issue in Progress

Fungal melanin as a biocompatible broad-spectrum sunscreen with high antioxidant activity

Abstract

Melanin is considered a bio-inspired dermo-cosmetic component due to its high UV absorption and antioxidant activity. Among various melanin sources, fungal melanin is a promising candidate for sunscreen because of its sustainability and scalability; however, quantitative assessment of its function has not yet been sufficiently explored. In this study, melanin samples derived from Amorphotheca resinae were prepared, followed by the evaluation of their sunscreen performance, antioxidant activity, and cytotoxicity. Melanin-blended cream was prepared by blending a melanin suspension and a pure cream. The cream showed an in vitro sun protection factor value of 2.5 when the pigment content was 5%. The cream showed a critical wavelength of approximately 388 nm and a UVA/UVB ratio of more than 0.81, satisfying the broad-spectrum sunscreen requirement. Oxygen radical absorbance capacity assays indicated that fungal melanin had antioxidant activity similar to ascorbic acid but higher than reduced glutathione. Fungal melanin had no statistically significant cytotoxicity to human keratinocyte cell lines until 72 h of exposure, even at a concentration of 4 mg mL−1. Consequently, melanin pigment can be used as a biocompatible broad-spectrum sunscreen with high antioxidant activity and as a practical alternative in dermo-cosmetic formulations.

Graphical abstract: Fungal melanin as a biocompatible broad-spectrum sunscreen with high antioxidant activity

Supplementary files

Article information

Article type
Paper
Submitted
01 Apr 2021
Accepted
23 May 2021
First published
01 Jun 2021
This article is Open Access
Creative Commons BY-NC license

RSC Adv., 2021,11, 19682-19689

Fungal melanin as a biocompatible broad-spectrum sunscreen with high antioxidant activity

J. Oh, J. Y. Kim, S. H. Son, W. Jung, D. H. Kim, J. Seo and G. Kim, RSC Adv., 2021, 11, 19682 DOI: 10.1039/D1RA02583J

This article is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial 3.0 Unported Licence. You can use material from this article in other publications, without requesting further permission from the RSC, provided that the correct acknowledgement is given and it is not used for commercial purposes.

To request permission to reproduce material from this article in a commercial publication, please go to the Copyright Clearance Center request page.

If you are an author contributing to an RSC publication, you do not need to request permission provided correct acknowledgement is given.

If you are the author of this article, you do not need to request permission to reproduce figures and diagrams provided correct acknowledgement is given. If you want to reproduce the whole article in a third-party commercial publication (excluding your thesis/dissertation for which permission is not required) please go to the Copyright Clearance Center request page.

Read more about how to correctly acknowledge RSC content.

Social activity

Spotlight

Advertisements