Marine Drugs· 2026Q1· Review
Beyond Beauty: Microalgae and Cyanobacteria as Next-Generation Platforms for Functional Dermocosmetics, Cutaneous Delivery, and Skin Health
- 0citations
- Q1SCImago
- 2026year
Short summary
Microalgae and cyanobacteria offer novel platforms for dermocosmetics, yielding bioactive compounds like exopolysaccharides, MAAs, and carotenoids that support skin hydration, photoprotection, and repair, with recent advances in nanoalgosomes and photosynthetic hydrogels.
AI-generated from the title and abstract; the full text is not read.
Key points
- Microalgae and cyanobacteria yield diverse bioactive compounds like EPS, MAAs, and carotenoids with skin benefits.
- These organisms can improve skin hydration, barrier function, photoprotection, and combat oxidative stress.
- Recent advancements include nanoalgosomes, photoactivated antimicrobials, photosynthetic hydrogels, and AI-assisted formulation.
- Most current evidence is biochemical, cellular, or preclinical, with limited human validation.
AI-generated from the title and abstract; the full text is not read.
Abstract
Microalgae and cyanobacteria are valuable sources of bioactive ingredients and innovative biological systems for skin applications. Their metabolites include exopolysaccharides (EPS), mycosporine-like amino acids (MAAs), carotenoids, phycobiliproteins, peptides and lipopeptides, polyunsaturated lipids, chlorophyll derivatives, and distinctive secondary metabolites such as scytonemin. Cyanobacteria additionally provide defined molecular candidates, including sacran, C-phycocyanin, MAAs, scytonemin-related compounds, and specialized peptide scaffolds. These compounds may support hydration and barrier function, photoprotection, control of oxidative stress and inflammation, pigmentation, antimicrobial and antibiofilm activity, extracellular-matrix preservation, and wound repair. This review examines major bioactive families, their sources and mechanisms, with particular emphasis on the strength of evidence supporting skin applications. Recent developments from 2024 to 2026 are highlighted, including microalgal extracellular vesicles (nanoalgosomes), photoactivated antimicrobial systems, photosynthetic hydrogels and microneedle patches, green extraction and biorefinery strategies, reconstructed human skin and skin-on-chip models, and artificial-intelligence-assisted formulation. Most reported effects remain supported mainly by biochemical, cellular, or preclinical evidence, whereas human validation is still limited. Translation will, therefore, depend on rigorous chemical standardization, effective cutaneous delivery, demonstrated stability and safety, scalable manufacturing, and validation in human-relevant models. Microalgae and cyanobacteria thus extend beyond conventional natural extracts toward next-generation dermocosmetic and cutaneous-delivery platforms.
The authors' abstract, as published at the source. Marine Drugs, 2026 · DOI ↗
Continue with a free account
Ask the paper: 3 free questions a day about this paper; save it, get its citation, new summaries every day for your field. Takeaways are Premium.
Continue free on the webSign in with Google or Apple; no card needed. You come back to this paper.
On your phone:
Field: Aquatic Science
Aquatic ScienceAgricultural and Biological Sciences