Abstract

Background: Acne is one of the predominant causes for a lack of self-confidence in young adults, especially because physical appearance is very closely linked peer relationships. Fortunately, there are creams that are designed to decrease acne; however, many of these current creams use harsh chemicals. These ingredients require extra cosmetics to be used such as soothing lotions to counteract the side effects of the chemicals.
Objective: To resolve this issue, the current study focused on producing an organic, biologically active cream with the main ingredient as lactic acid. To our knowledge there are no other studies that combine a biologically produced lactate with organic coconut oil to make an acne cream.
Methods: In the present study, the strain that was chosen was L. rhamnosus (Lactobacillus rhamnosus ATCC 9595). Through fermentation, purification, making and testing of the cream, it is shown that the cream made from biologically produced lactate (called “LACNEND”) is able to inhibit the growth of bacteria. There were 30 “LACNEND”, 48 control and 18 coconut oil samples.
Results: A one-way ANOVA indicated that the growth in the “LACNEND” condition was significantly lower than the growth in coconut and control conditions.
Conclusion: It was concluded that the “LACNEND” cream was able to inhibit the growth of bacteria better than the coconut oil.
Implications and future research: It is important to note that this cream is one of the first acne creams to have an ingredient that is biologically produced through bacteria. Also, it is the first acne cream to utilize only lactic acid and coconut oil in a cream, which is effective against acne. Although the cream has proven to inhibit the growth of bacteria, further research can be done to legitimize “LACNEND”.

Keywords: Acne cream; Biological product; Lactate; Fermentation; Purification