Tag: skin

Peppermint oil protects clinical aids such as catheters against bacterial colonisation. The Australia-based professor responsible for that discovery has now turned another research team’s attention to the medical effects of vanillin. The natural flavouring agent from the vanilla pod is chemically stable and offers several advantages when it comes to treating chronic wounds. It neutralises free radicals, has anti-inflammatory...

An agency represents people whose looks don’t conform. Including those with vitiligo, an auto-immune disease which causes skin discolouration. In its search for a cure, an American university team hit upon a carbohydrate compound. It was isolated from a gut-friendly bacteria called Bacillus subtilis. During an 18-week study, vitiligo-prone mice were given weekly injections of these exopolysaccharides (EPS). The...

A soap mix is helping to combat skin cancer. Sunscreen is useful there, too, but mostly not eco-friendly. Enter two Boston-based researchers who have pooled their knowledge of underwater molluscs to launch a new startup. Their experiments showed that colour pigments in squid or octopus could protect against the sun when combined with zinc oxide. After recreating the pigments...