Mushroom-Based Cosmeceutical Formulations with High Bioactivities

The cosmetic industry is in a constant search for natural compounds or extracts with relevant bioactive properties, which became valuable ingredients to design cosmeceutical formulations. Cosmeceutical formulations containing bioactive ingredients—such as phytonutrients, microbial metabolites, dairy products, minerals, and animal proteins—displaying medical-drug like benefits able to improve the structure, function, and appearance of the skin, are becoming more and more appellative solutions.

Mushrooms have been markedly studied in terms of nutritional value and medicinal properties. However, there is still slow progress in the biotechnological application of mushroom extracts in cosmetic formulations, either as antioxidants, anti-aging, antimicrobial, and anti-inflammatory agents or as hyperpigmentation correctors.

In the present work, the cosmeceutical potential of ethanolic extracts prepared from Agaricus bisporus, Pleurotus ostreatus, and Lentinula edodes was analyzed in terms of anti-inflammatory, anti-tyrosinase, antioxidant, and antibacterial activities. The extracts were characterized in terms of phenolic acids and ergosterol composition, and further incorporated in a base cosmetic cream to achieve the same bioactive purposes. From the results obtained, the final cosmeceutical formulations presented 85%–100% of the phenolic acids and ergosterol levels found in the mushroom extracts, suggesting that there was no significant loss of bioactive compounds. The final cosmeceutical formulation also displayed all the ascribed bioactivities and as such, mushrooms can further be exploited as natural cosmeceutical ingredients.

Further studies are currently being conducted regarding the evaluation of the stability of the cosmeceutical formulations.

http://www.mdpi.com/1420-3049/21/10/1372/htm