Cosmeceutical properties of levan produced by Zymomonas mobilis

Levan, a polysaccharide that can be produced by both plants and microorganisms, is a sugar polymer composed of fructose, with beta-2,6 linkages. Here, we have attempted to assess the possible use of levan produced by Zymomonas mobilis as a cosmeceutical ingredient. In service of this goal, we assessed a host of levan's properties, including its moisturizing effects, cell cytotoxicity, cell proliferation effects, and anti-inflammation effects. Levan exhibited a moisturizing effect that was almost exactly the same as that evidenced by hyaluronic acid, as well as a similar cell proliferation effect in human fibroblast and keratinocyte cell lines. Moreover, in our cell proliferation test, which was conducted using bio-artificial skin constructed via 3-dimensional (3-D) culture after the induction of primary skin inflammation with 0.05% sodium lauryl sulfate (SLS), cell viability in the presence of levan (0.01 mg/ml, 0.05 mg/ml) was determined to be higher than cell viability in the absence of levan. In our anti-inflammation test, which was also conducted using 3-D artificial skin, and which involved the measurement of a quantity of secreted interleukin-1alpha (IL-1alpha), a pre-inflammatory mediator induced by SLS, we determined that the quantity of IL-1alpha in the 3-D artificial skin treated with 0.01 mg/ml and 0.05 mg/ml of levan was less than that registered in a skin sample that had been treated only with SLS. In this study, we determined that levan exerted an anti-inflammatory effect against inflammatory reactions to skin irritants, and also that levan exerted a cell-proliferative effect in bio-artificial skin, thereby indicating its potential applicability as a cosmeceutical agent.