Olive bacteria produce a natural skin-soothing soap compound
Hyeon JW, Jeon MH, Bae JT, Jung MY
Ethnobotany
The bacteria living on the skin of olives, the same ones behind traditional fermentation, are turning out to be tiny chemists capable of making gentler alternatives to synthetic ingredients in your lotions and soaps.
Researchers isolated a bacterium from olives that, when fed rapeseed oil, produces a natural fat-and-sugar compound that acts like soap: it blends oil and water, fights off a common fungus, and calms inflammation in skin cells. Because it comes from a food-safe bacterium already used in fermenting olives, it's a strong candidate for gentler, plant-derived ingredients in cosmetics and skincare products.
Key Findings
The compound emulsified various plant oils with an emulsification index of 26.67-41.33% after 24 hours
It suppressed nitric oxide production by 88.07% in inflamed immune cells at 200 ppm and reduced inflammatory skin markers (TARC, MDC, RANTES)
It inhibited the yeast Candida albicans while showing no toxicity to skin and immune cells up to 200 ppm
chevron_right Technical Summary
Scientists found a bacterium living on olives that produces a natural soap-like compound capable of blending oils, fighting a common yeast infection, and calming inflamed skin cells, a promising all-in-one ingredient for cosmetics.
Abstract Preview
Original paper
Compositional and Functional Characterization of Glycolipid Biosurfactants from an Olive-Derived Lactiplantibacillus plantarum.
Biosurfactants from lactic acid bacteria are attractive as safe, multifunctional ingredients for food and cosmetic applications, yet many remain only partially characterized. An olive-derived strai...
open_in_new Read full abstractAbstract copyright held by the original publisher.
Was this useful?
Want to tell us more? (optional)
Thanks for the note!
Something went wrong — please try again.
Too many submissions. Try again in an hour.
Ancient Amazonian forests were planted and tended by Indigenous farmers
Forests and fruits we romanticize as wild — including many plants now in our kitchens and gardens — may exist in their current abundance precisely because an...
The olive is a species of subtropical evergreen tree in the family Oleaceae. Originating in Asia Minor, it is abundant throughout the Mediterranean Basin, with wild subspecies in Africa and western Asia; modern cultivars are traced primarily to the Near East, Aegean Sea, and Strait of Gibraltar. ...