Isolation and identification of hyaluronan-degrading bacteria from Japanese fecal microbiota.

Hyaluronan (HA) is a high-molecular-weight glycosaminoglycan and widely distributed in all connective tissues and organs with diverse biological functions. HA has been increasingly used as dietary supplements targeted to joint and skin health for humans. We here first report isolation of bacteria from human feces that are capable of degrading HA to lower molecular weight HA oligosaccharides (oligo-HAs).

Oral hyaluronan relieves wrinkles: a double-blinded, placebo-controlled study over a 12-week period.

Background: Hyaluronan (HA) has critical moisturizing property and high water retention capacity especially for human skin. This study aimed to evaluate the effect of oral intake of HA.

Methods: The mean molecular weight (MW) of HA is 2 k and 300 k.