▶ Previous Artlcle : #6-1. Skin Protective Effects of Ectoin Ⅰ 

 

 

 

Extremolyte

 

You need to identify two terms before understanding what ectoin is.

 

The first one is “extremophiles,” a coined word of extreme + phile (“love”) indicating microbial lives found in various extreme environments, where factors such as temperature, acidity, salinity, air pressure, oxygen, UV rays are extraordinary.

 

Thus, extremophiles are organisms that can live in such extreme environments without any problems.

 

 

 

[Advertisement] Reandnè Thread Series – Manufacturer: GTG WELLNESS(https://gtgwellness.co.kr/en/)

 

 

 

Where they live includes acidophile, alkaline, halophile, thermophile, radioresistant environments. The halophiles, meaning “salt-loving” in Greek, live in a high-salinity environment. Figure 2 and 3 show some representative halophiles.

 

The term “extremolyte” comes from extremophiles. Extremolyte refers to a substance created by extremophiles to protect themselves from the extreme external environments they live.

 

The extremolyte attracts moisture from the surroundings to form a protective film around the protein cells on the surface of the extremophiles (see Figure 5).

 

 

 

Figure 2. An invertebrate microbial life called “water bear,” surviving in an environment of high pressure, high temperature, and high salinity (Source: Photolibrary/Oxford Scientific/Getty Image).

 

 

 

-To be continued