Professor Who Bets His Life on 'Gaetbawi Pul' Sargassum

Professor Kim Hyung-rak of Pukyong National University Develops and Commercializes Functional Cosmetic Ingredients from Mozaban
25 SCI-Level Papers on Mozaban... Development of Substances Excellent for Whitening and Wrinkle Improvement

Professor Kim Hyung-rak of Pukyong National University, an expert in seaweed research.

[Asia Economy Yeongnam Reporting Headquarters, Reporter Kim Yong-woo] There is a professor who is fascinated by ‘Mozaban,’ a type of seaweed that grows attached to rocky shores and reaches lengths of 1 to over 3 meters, considered a winter delicacy. Having published 25 SCI (Science Citation Index) level papers on Mozaban, he has earned the nickname ‘Professor Mo(jaban).’

This ‘Professor Mo’ has recently attracted attention in academia by commercializing functional substances from large-fruited Mozaban that exhibit excellent skin whitening and wrinkle improvement effects.

This is the story of Professor Kim Hyung-rak (63 years old, Department of Food and Nutrition) at Pukyong National University. On the 14th, Professor Kim announced that he had developed and stabilized a concentration technology for Meroterpenoid (MES), which contains the active ingredients sargahydroquinoic acid and sargachinoic acid?secondary metabolites produced by large-fruited Mozaban, which is abundant along Korea’s coasts. MES is known as the first material developed with combined functionalities (whitening and wrinkle improvement) from a single substance.

Through cell culture experiments, Professor Kim revealed that MES components improve skin whitening by reducing melanin pigment production in the skin and improve wrinkles by inhibiting protein production in keratinocytes involved in wrinkle formation.

Although a Japanese scientist discovered MES in Mozaban in 1978, Professor Kim is the first to molecularly elucidate the biological functions of this substance within the body.

Specializing in molecular nutrition, Professor Kim is recognized as a pioneer in the study of Mozaban’s physiological activities. From 2010, supported by the National Institute of Fisheries Science for five years, he conducted physiological activity research on 12 of the 28 Mozaban species native to Korea, publishing 25 SCI papers.

Large fruit seaweed.

From 2015 to 2020, focusing solely on large-fruited Mozaban under a specific project by the Ministry of Oceans and Fisheries, he registered 13 patents including those related to the whitening and wrinkle improvement effects of large-fruited Mozaban.

After registering the first patent for MES’s whitening and wrinkle improvement efficacy in 2015, Professor Kim founded a company named ‘PHYHEAL Co., Ltd.’ in March 2018 and began commercializing MES as a nanoemulsion product called ‘SargaX’ in August 2019. The company is registered as a venture business and was selected for the U-TECH VALLEY project by the Small and Medium Business Administration.

Professor Kim said with a smile, “The advantage of this emulsion is its excellent skin absorption. I hope this small gift will brighten the hearts of people whose spirits have been wrinkled by COVID-19.” He also mentioned plans to temporarily provide free prototypes to Pukyong National University staff suffering from skin problems. Thanks to ‘Professor Mo,’ everyone at Pukyong National University seems likely to have bright and elastic skin.