BPB Reports

Paper Details

BPB Reports
Vol. 7 No. 2 p.56-60 2024
Report
The Lower Toxicity and Wider Safety Range of Acidic Sophorolipid Compared to Surfactin and Rhamnolipid as Biosurfactants toward the HaCAT, THP-1, and RAW 264.7
  • Kazuya Nagano (Graduate School of Pharmaceutical Sciences, Osaka University / School of Pharmaceutical Sciences, Wakayama Medical University / knagano@phs.osaka-u.ac.jp)
Michiaki Araki 1) 2) , Erika Kunimi 1) , Yoshihiko Hirata 1) 2) , Misa Muraoka 1) , Hirofumi Tsujino 1) , Masayoshi Arai 1) , Kazumasa Hirata 1) 3) , Kazuya Nagano 1) 3)
1) Graduate School of Pharmaceutical Sciences, Osaka University , 2) Biochemical Laboratory, Saraya Research Institute, Saraya Co., Ltd , 3) School of Pharmaceutical Sciences, Wakayama Medical University
Received: December 15, 2023;   Accepted: March 31, 2024;   Released: April 23, 2024
Keywords: biosurfactants, sophorolipid, safety range
Abstracts

As the number of consumers suffering from rough hands and dermatitis caused by the frequent daily use of synthetic surfactants increases, biocompatible materials are required. Biosurfactants (BSs), compounds excreted or produced by microbial cells, attract attention as cosmetic substrates suitable for human skin and the environment. This study evaluated the utility of the glycolipid-type sophorolipid (SL) produced by the non-pathogenic yeast Starmerella bombicola, as a BS. The cytotoxicity of open-chain acid type SL (SL acid) among SLs, is approximately 100–250 times less than that of commercially available surfactants in all cells. Therefore, SL acid is a promising surfactant with a high safety profile. In contrast, the critical micelle concentration (CMC) of SL acid, surfactin, and rhamnolipid were 1,000 mg/L, 16 mg/L, and 38 mg/L, respectively, indicating that SL acid has lower functionality than the other BSs. Finally, the safety range was analyzed for each BS to indicate practicality. The safety range, the concentration range where each BS can exhibit its function without cytotoxicity, was defined based on the lethal concentration 50 (LC50)/CMC value. As a result, the safety range of SL acid is 3.9–4.4 times wilder than that of surfactin and rhamnolipids. Consequently, SL acid could be a promising BS with a wider safety range than other BSs, such as surfuctin and rhamnolipids.