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Oligochitosan as a potential anti-acne vulgaris agent: combined antibacterial effects against Propionibacterium acnes

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Abstract

To develop an antibacterial treatment for acne vulgaris using natural substance with few side effects, we investigated the antibacterial activities of oligochitosan against acne-related bacteria, particularly Propionibacterium acnes. Oligochitosan showed potent antibacterial effect on P. acnes. Especially, 10 kDa oligochitosan presented the highest antimicrobial effect with minimum inhibitory concentration values of 32–64 μg/mL on P. acnes. In addition, oligochitosan clearly reversed the antibacterial effect of tetracycline and erythromycin on P. acnes in the combination mode. The combination of tetracycline- or erythromycine-10 kDa oligochitosan resulted in a median ΣFIC range of 0.02–0.56, suggesting that the antibiotics–oligochitosan combination resulted in an antibacterial synergy against P. acnes. Thus, the results obtained in this research strongly supported that erythromycin and tetracycline will restore the antibacterial activity against P. acnes in the combination mode with 10 kDa oligochitosan.

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Acknowledgements

This research was supported by the Marine Biotechnology Program (20150220) funded by the Ministry of Oceans and Fisheries, Republic of Korea. Moreover, this study was supported by the special fund of Pukyong National University, donated by the SKS Trading Co. in Lynnwood, WA, USA in memory of the late Mr. Young Hwan Kang for his inspiration and deep concern for fisheries science. The pathogen for this study was provided by the Gyeongsang National University Hospital Branch of National Culture Collection for Pathogens (GNUH-NCCP).

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Food Science and Technology, Pukyong National University, Busan, 48513, Korea

    Song-Hee Kim & Young-Mog Kim

  2. Korea Food Research Institute, Sungnam, Gyeonggi, 13539, Korea

    Sung-Hwan Eom

  3. Department of Chemical and Biological Engineering, University of Saskatchewan, Saskatoon, Canada

    Daeung Yu

  4. Department of Microbiology, Pukyong National University, Busan, 48513, Korea

    Myung-Suk Lee

  5. Marine-Integrated Bionics Research Center, Pukyong National University, Busan, 48513, Korea

    Young-Mog Kim

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  1. Song-Hee Kim
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Correspondence to Young-Mog Kim.

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Kim, SH., Eom, SH., Yu, D. et al. Oligochitosan as a potential anti-acne vulgaris agent: combined antibacterial effects against Propionibacterium acnes . Food Sci Biotechnol 26, 1029–1036 (2017). https://doi.org/10.1007/s10068-017-0118-y

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s10068-017-0118-y

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