J Appl Biomed 23:152-162, 2025 | DOI: 10.32725/jab.2025.013

Secondary metabolites from halotolerant filamentous fungi as potential topical cosmeceutical ingredients

Chi Hoang^{1, 2}, Ha Tran¹, Hang Tran^{1, 2}, Diep Hoang³, Quan Nguyen^{1, 2}, Cuong Le^{1, 2 *}

1 Institute of Natural Products Chemistry - Vietnam Academy of Science and Technology, Hanoi, Vietnam

2 Graduate University of Science and Technology - Vietnam Academy of Science and Technology, Hanoi, Vietnam

3 VNU University of Engineering and Technology, Hanoi, Vietnam

The use of natural products in cosmetics and pharmacy has risen dramatically in recent years, leading to the overexploitation of flora and fauna worldwide and threatening the environmental sustainability. Microbe-derived components could help to solve the problem due to their independently controllable cultural property. To investigate the potential of microfungi for producing potential novel cosmeceuticals, cerevisterol (1), aloesol (2), 3β,5α,9α-trihydroxyergosta-7,22-diene-6-one (3), and ergosterol peroxide (4) were isolated from the halotolerant fungal strains Penicillium brefeldianum CL6 and Talaromyces sp. S3-Rt-N3. They were then tested for biological properties, including anti-microbial, tyrosinase inhibitory, and wound healing activities. The results revealed the wound-healing potentials of two fungal compounds - (1) and (2) - in terms of cell proliferation promotion in NIH-3T3 murine fibroblasts, and the tyrosinase inhibitory potential of fungal compounds (1), (3), and (4) in the substrates L-tyrosine and L-3,4-dihydroxyphenylalanine (L-DOPA). Interestingly, compound (1) exhibited antimicrobial activity against acne-causing bacterium Propionibacterium acnes. These results have revealed new prospects for the application of microorganisms-derived compounds, especially in the cosmetics industry.

Keywords: Cosmeceutical; Ergosterol; Halotolerant; Tyrosinase inhibitor; Wound healing

Grants and funding:

This work was financially supported by the Vietnam Academy of Science and Technology under the grant THTETN.02/24-25. The grant financially supported cosmeceutical assays and related studies on isolation and chemical elucidation of compounds from fungal strains Penicillium brefeldianum CL6 and Talaromyces sp. S3-Rt-N3.

Conflicts of interest:

I, as the corresponding author, declare that the results/data/figures in this manuscript are original, and have not been published elsewhere. All research was conducted to the highest ethical standards. All authors are involved in the work. Authors and co-authors reviewed and ensured the accuracy and validity of all the results. All authors declare that they have no conflicts of interest.

Received: December 29, 2023; Revised: September 2, 2025; Accepted: September 18, 2025; Prepublished online: September 23, 2025; Published: September 30, 2025  Show citation