Method For Preparing a Skin Repairing Ingredient from Cheese Whey Following Lactobacillus Fermentation

In case of impairments in skin integrity, the use of dermatological treatments may prevent the outbreaks of diseases, by restoring the physiological homeostasis of the injured tissue. Against this background, a method for preparing an active ingredient effective on wound healing has been developed, starting from sweet whey, a by-product of Fontina PDO cheese processing. Following the fractionation of whey constituents by ultrafiltration processes, the obtained permeate underwent controlled fermentation by a newly characterized Lactobacillus delbrueckii MF-20/7A/24 (BCCM accession number LMG P-31789) isolated in alpine pasture of Aosta Valley, a little region in the Northwest of Italy. The ability of the native bacterial strain was exploited to ferment the whey permeate fraction, in order to enhance its potentially bioactive components. In particular, the whey-based fermented product was rich in biomolecules with a potentially beneficial effect on human skin, including galacto-oligosaccharides and organic acids. The prepared ingredient, subject of a specific Italian patent (N. 102021000011006), showed the ability in vitro to induce skin wound healing, due to the presence of galacto-oligosaccharides (GOS) and butyric acid. As evidenced by the tests carried out, no cytotoxic reactivity or interferences with cell growth and cytoplasmatic metabolism were found out. Moreover, data from patch test on adult volunteers with sensitive skin confirmed the absence of irritating properties of the preparation.