'Umutgasari' Opens the Way to Preventing Skin Fine Wrinkles... Korea Institute of Ocean Science and Technology First Discovers Efficacy of 'Partial Hydrolysis of Agar'

KIOST Jeju Research Center Researcher Lee Young-deuk, Polysaccharide Decomposition Inhibition → Skin Moisture Retention

Cultivation of Gilbimarineus agarilalyticus, an agar-degrading microorganism isolated from the ocean.

[Asia Economy Yeongnam Reporting Headquarters Reporter Kim Yong-woo] A new path has opened to suppress aging such as fine wrinkles on the skin by utilizing 'Agar,' made from red algae of the Gelidiaceae family, attracting global attention.

The Korea Institute of Ocean Science and Technology (KIOST) isolated a 'degrading enzyme' from marine microorganisms that decompose agar and created partially hydrolyzed agar, which research has shown inhibits the degradation of hyaluronic acid, effective for skin moisturizing.

Researcher Lee Young-deuk of KIOST Jeju Research Center recently published a paper on this topic in the international marine pharmaceutical journal 'Marine Drugs.'

According to the paper, partially hydrolyzed agar was found to have a superior inhibitory effect on hyaluronidase compared to fully hydrolyzed agar oligosaccharides. This study is particularly notable for being the first to discover the efficacy of partially hydrolyzed agar.

Hyaluronic acid is a polysaccharide present in the skin, eyes, joints, etc., and its amount decreases with aging, causing skin dryness and fine wrinkles. Hyaluronic acid is broken down by an enzyme called hyaluronidase, and inhibiting the activity of this enzyme can maintain skin moisture and prevent aging.

Until now, agar has only been used as a food product through simple processing. Fully hydrolyzing agar requires a large amount of enzymes, making it costly and difficult for industrial use.

However, the partially hydrolyzed agar revealed in this study does not gel like typical solidified agar, so there are no restrictions on material processing. It also has the advantage of being stably produced with only a very small amount of enzyme.

Inhibition rates of hyaluronidase by DSCG (antiallergic agent), agar oligosaccharides, and partially hydrolyzed agar (PHP) chart.

Recently, with the trend of fostering the marine bio industry as a future new growth industry, there is a growing movement to develop raw materials extracted from marine organisms into bio-materials for food, energy, industrial materials, and medical uses.

Additionally, research is actively being conducted on using agar oligosaccharides, derived from decomposed agar, in food, cosmetics, and pharmaceuticals, and efforts are being made to improve agar hydrolysis efficiency.

Agar oligosaccharides are sugars obtained from agar extracted from seaweeds such as Eucheuma. They are known to have effects such as anti-obesity and anti-diabetes.

Since 2015, the research team at KIOST Jeju Research Center's Jeju Special Research Center isolated the strain Gilvimarinus agarilyticus JEA5 from seawater collected in seaweed habitats off the coast of Jeju, isolated highly active agar-degrading enzymes, secured mass production technology through genetic recombination, and last year transferred the technology to ‘Lalaits,’ a KIOST research institute company.

KIOST Director Kim Woong-seo said, “Marine biological resources are a new core engine for national growth. Through proving the efficacy of partially hydrolyzed agar this time, it is expected to be utilized as a functional material in various fields such as pharmaceuticals and cosmetics in the future,” adding, “We will strive to continuously discover materials from marine biological resources and contribute to promoting industrialization such as mass production and standardization.”

This content was produced with the assistance of AI translation services.