The potential of fucoidans from Chnoospora minima and Sargassum polycystum in cosmetics: antioxidant, anti-inflammatory, skin-whitening, and antiwrinkle activities I. P. Shanura Fernando 1 & K. K. Asanka Sanjeewa 1 & Kalpa W. Samarakoon 2 & Hyun-Soo Kim 1 & U. K. D. S. S. Gunasekara 2 & Young-Jin Park 3 & D. T. U. Abeytunga 4 & Won Woo Lee 1 & You-Jin Jeon 1 Received: 16 October 2017 /Revised and accepted: 22 January 2018 # Springer Science+Business Media B.V., part of Springer Nature 2018 Abstract Over the years, bioactive and biocompatible natural products have received increased attention as ingredients of cosmeceutical formulations owing to their robust properties compared to many of the synthetic chemicals in use. Many natural products derived from algae have shown promising cosmetizing properties. Seaweed polysaccharides, in particular, have received increased attention for their biofunctional and physicochemical characteristics. This study aimed to design a cost-effective strategy to purify fucoidans from the untapped brown algae Chnoospora minima (CMF) and Sargassum polycystum (SPF) harvested in Sri Lanka and to evaluate their cosmetizing properties. Based on Fourier transform infrared (FTIR) spectroscopy and monosaccha- ride composition analysis, the purified polysaccharides were rich in fucoidan. Relatively high sulfate content was detected in both fucoidans. Experiments were carried out to evaluate antioxidant, UV-protective, anti-inflammatory, antiwrinkling, and skin- whitening effects. Both CMF and SPF showed 2,2-diphenyl-1-picrylhydrazyl (DPPH) and alkyl radical-scavenging activities, anti-inflammatory effects on lipopolysaccharide (LPS)-stimulated RAW 264.7 macrophages, considerable collagenase and elastase inhibitory properties and skin-whitening effects via direct inhibition of tyrosinase, and intracellular melanin synthesis indicating promising cosmetizing effects. Keywords Phaeophyta . Fucoidan . Chnoospora minima . Sargassum polycystum . Whitening . Antiwrinkling Introduction The cosmetic industry has become one of the rapidly developing businesses throughout the globe because of the modern lifestyle patterns and a marked upsurge in interest in the physical appearance and beauty products. Cosmeceutical formulations based on natural products are becoming increasingly popular due to their robust properties and nutraceutical functionality other than the intended bioactivity compared to synthetic chemicals. With recent developments in natural product chemistry and ma- rine bioresource technology, polysaccharides of seaweeds have drawn special attention because of their biofunctional, physical, and chemical properties desirable for cosmeceutical preparations. Among the polysaccharides identified in marine algae, fucoidans, a group of sulfated heteropolysaccharides found in brown algae, have aroused special interest due to their broad range of bioactivities. Fucoidans are predominantly composed of L-fucose-4-sulfate monomers, primarily linked through α(1 → 3) and (1 → 4) bonds in combination with a host of other monosaccharide units (Berteau and Mulloy 2003). Fucoidans from various brown seaweeds are highly variable in their mono- saccharide composition, sequence, branching patterns, types of the bond, the substitution patterns, and amount of sulfate groups. The biological activities of fucoidan depend on its structural characteristics. Fucoidans are well known for their radical- * Won Woo Lee 21cow@naver.com * You-Jin Jeon youjin2014@gmail.com 1 Department of Marine Life Science, Jeju National University, Jeju 690-756, Republic of Korea 2 Industrial Technology Institute (ITI), 363, Bauddhaloka Mawatha, Colombo 7, Sri Lanka 3 Department of Family Medicine College of Medicine, Dong-A University, Dong-A University Medical Center, Busan 602-715, South Korea 4 Department of Chemistry, University of Colombo, Colombo 3, Sri Lanka Journal of Applied Phycology https://doi.org/10.1007/s10811-018-1415-4