Retinoid Induced Changes in the Fatty Acid Profile of Sebum and Its Effect on Bacterial Growth

April 2016 in “ Journal of Investigative Dermatology ”

Jocelyn Fuentes, Negar Foolad, Waqas Burney, Tracy Shafizadeh, Sunita Inderjit Singh, Simon Watkins, Robert W. Crawford, Raja K Sivamani

retinoids tretinoin isotretinoin sebum free fatty acids C14:0 C18:0 C12:0 C16:0 S. epidermidis S. aureus Retin-A Accutane fatty acids Staphylococcus epidermidis Staphylococcus aureus

TLDR Retinoids change the fat content in skin oil and reduce bacteria growth, helping to treat acne.

The study from 7 years ago investigated the effects of retinoids on the local lipid profile and bacterial growth in acne patients. Two groups of human subjects with acne were treated with either topical tretinoin or oral isotretinoin. After one month, it was found that tretinoin did not change overall sebum production, while isotretinoin reduced it by 7.1-fold. Both treatments altered the free fatty acid profile of sebum, with C14:0 decreasing and C18:0 increasing, but did not affect C12:0 and C16:0. These changes in fatty acids significantly reduced the growth of S. epidermidis and S. aureus bacteria, with the latter being more profoundly affected. The results suggest that retinoids can alter the fatty acid profile of sebum and affect bacterial growth, independent of their effect on overall sebum production.

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