Excellent Properties of Mannosylerythritol Lipid-B (MEL-B) for Cosmetics

Abstract

Mannosylerythritol lipid-B (MEL-B) is extracellular glycolipid produced by yeast, Pseudozyma tsukubaensis. MEL-B shows unique interfacial properties and physiological functions not found in synthetic surfactants. MEL-B has excellent skin moisturizing effect, lamella-forming ability and unique good touch feeling, and therefore has come to be widely used for cosmetic ingredient. Besides, the research on cosmetic formulation has been advanced, and characteristic formulations using MEL-B has been reported recently. We here summarize the cosmetic applications of MEL-B from basics research including the effect on the skin and its mechanism to applied research including cosmetic formulation and sensory evaluation.