Scubaism

Researchers in Japan have found a way of extracting high yields of a protein substance called mucin from jellyfish that can be used as a starting material for production of designer mucins in cosmetics and food additives.

So jellyfish, which has been considered a pest, could now become the source of a useful family of chemicals, thanks to research reported in the Journal of Natural Products by Kiminori Ushida at the Institute of Physical and Chemical Research, RIKEN, in Wako, Japan.

Dr Ushida’s team at the Eco-Soft Materials Research Unit extracted mucus from five species of jellyfish and found it was rich in a family of sugary proteins called mucins. Usually obtained from cow salivary glands or pig stomachs, mucins allow cosmetics to retain moisture and are the basis of synthetic mucus, a substance that is both antibacterial and lubricates.

Dr Ushida said that using jellyfish as chemical resource would help “compensate” the cost for cleaning up the environment, fishermen and to keep the cooling system of power plants clear.

He said: “In the short term, we hope to use it in additives for foods (dispersing agent, emulsifying agent, and so on) and in cosmetics (to retain moisture and for its antibiotic action) because the new mucin can be substituted for gastric mucins from animals which have been use for a long time, but are now avoided after the BSE fears.”