Sericin is a natural polymer, a silk-derived protein isolated from the cocoons of the silkworm Bombyx mori.

It appears in the form of a white powder.

What it is used for and where

Cosmetics

It is a protein that regulates the hydration and protection of the skin and hair.

Hair conditioning agent. A large number of ingredients with specific purposes can co-exist in a hair shampoo: cleansers, conditioners, thickeners, mattifying agents, sequestering agents, fragrances, preservatives, special additives. However, the indispensable ingredients are the cleansers and conditioners as they are necessary and sufficient for hair cleansing and manageability. The others act as commercial and non-essential auxiliaries such as: appearance, fragrance, colouring, etc. Hair conditioning agents have the task of increasing shine, manageability and volume, and reducing static electricity, especially after treatments such as colouring, ironing, waving, drying and brushing. They are, in practice, dispersing agents that may contain cationic surfactants, thickeners, emollients, polymers. The typology of hair conditioners includes: intensive conditioners, instant conditioners, thickening conditioners, drying conditioners.

Skin conditioning agent - Miscellaneous.  This ingredient has the task of modifying the condition of the skin when it is damaged or dry by reducing its flakiness and restoring its elasticity.

Used in cosmetics and in products for the care and cleaning of the body such as liquid, gel and other soaps.

Medical

It has many applications in medicine.

It helps cell proliferation (1), promotes better cellular attachment (2).

Experimentally, it is used in the cultivation of hybridomas, T lymphocytes, endothelial cells, stromal cells of the human marrow (3).

Sericin studies

CAS    60650-88-6    60650-89-7

References________________________________________________________________________

(1) Martínez-Mora, C.; Mrowiec, A.; García-Vizcaíno, E.M.; Alcaraz, A.; Cenis, J.L.; Nicolás, F.J. Fibroin and sericin from Bombyx mori silk stimulate cell migration through upregulation and phosphorylation of c-Jun. PLoS ONE 2012, 7, e42271

(2) Terada, S.; Nishimura, T.; Sasaki, M.; Yamada, H.; Miki, M. Sericin, a protein derived from silkworms, accelerates the proliferation of several mammalian cell lines including a hybridoma. Cytotechnology 2002, 40, 3–12.

(3) Verdanova, M.; Pytlik, R.; Kalbacova, M.H. Evaluation of Sericin as a Fetal Bovine Serum-Replacing Cryoprotectant during Freezing of Human Mesenchymal Stromal Cells and Human Osteoblast-Like Cells. Biopreserv. Biobank. 2014, 12, 99–105.