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Ingredient intelligence

Polyglutamic acid

Humectant · Polyglutamic Acid · (C5H7NO3)n

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Polyglutamic acid is a microbially produced polypeptide of glutamic acid units used as a film-forming humectant. Most published work is formulation science rather than cutaneous biology.

Single human studyOne curated human study — the finding has not been independently repeated in this dataset.

Molecular identity

Structure image unavailable

Formula
(C5H7NO3)n
Molecular weight
Data unavailable
PubChem CID
Data unavailable
ChEBI
Data unavailable

Biological targets

  • Hyaluronidase 1 (HYAL1)

    low confidence

    inhibits · enzyme

    Enzyme inhibition reported in vitro; cutaneous relevance untested.

    UniProt Q12794

  • Stratum corneum water-binding matrix

    medium confidence

    modulates · complex

    Physical humectancy rather than a protein interaction.

Molecules & genes

Molecules

  • Gamma-glutamic acid repeat unitC5H7NO3 · 129.11 g/mol

Genes / proteins

How could this ingredient interact with biology?

Biological network

Ingredient → molecule → target → gene/protein → pathway → process → studied outcome. Relationship strength is drawn from the curated confidence tier; nothing is added to make the chain look complete.

100%
Polyglutamic acidGamma-glutamic acid repea…Stratum corneum water-bin…Surface water binding and…Stratum corneum hydration

drag to pan · hover to isolate a path · click a node for detail

IngredientMoleculeTargetGenePathwayProcessOutcome

4 lower-confidence relationships are hidden at this filter level. Use “Show more biology” to include them.

Text alternative for this network
  • Polyglutamic acid is molecule Gamma-glutamic acid repeat unit — high confidence
  • Gamma-glutamic acid repeat unit modulates Stratum corneum water-binding matrix — medium confidence
  • Surface water binding and occlusive film formation associated with Stratum corneum hydration — medium confidence

Biological pathways

Surface water binding and occlusive film formation

medium confidence

Hydration effects are attributed to a hygroscopic surface film rather than an intracellular pathway.

Literature

Evidence engine

Limited

Mostly mechanistic, animal or single-study evidence.

Skinceptor Evidence Index

44

experimental · of 100

This index is a research-navigation aid describing how much evidence exists and how it was produced. It is not a medical safety score, an efficacy guarantee, or a clinical recommendation.

Study composition

  • Human1
Total studies
1
Human studies
1
Largest sample
22
Range
2014–2014

Index breakdown

  • Study design quality70% × 28%

    Mean design weight across curated studies (meta-analysis 1.0, RCT 0.9, other human 0.7, review 0.45, animal 0.35, in-vitro 0.25).

  • Human evidence share33% × 22%

    Proportion of curated evidence measured in people rather than cells or animals.

  • Evidence volume32% × 14%

    Log-scaled count of curated studies, so volume alone cannot dominate the score.

  • Largest sample size45% × 12%

    Log-scaled largest reported sample size across curated human studies.

  • Replication33% × 12%

    Independent human studies, capped at three; one study is never treated as replicated.

  • Recency40% × 7%

    Linear decay over a twenty-year window from the most recent curated publication.

  • Source traceability0% × 5%

    Share of curated studies with a verified PMID or DOI in this dataset.

How is this determined? →

Insufficient comparable evidence for quantitative synthesis.

Research timeline

How the evidence accumulated

  1. 2014

    Polyglutamic acid film formation and short-term skin hydration

    Humann = 22 · International Journal of Cosmetic Science

Ingredient fingerprint

9 nodes · 9 relationships · seed "polyglutamic-acid"

The fingerprint is a deterministic visual signature: ridge amplitude comes from the number of entities in each tier, node placement from identifier hashes, and opacity from confidence. Two ingredients can never produce the same figure unless their networks are identical.

Open in Biology as Art →

Research

1 curated study

HumanInternational Journal of Cosmetic Science · 2014n = 22

Polyglutamic acid film formation and short-term skin hydration

Reported increased corneometry readings shortly after application, attributed to a hygroscopic surface film.

Limitations — Short measurement window, no long-term barrier endpoints; identifier not verified during curation.

Identifier not curated — search Europe PMCPolyglutamic acid · Hyaluronic acid

Community evidence

Submitted by readers

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Reader submissions appear here only after review. They are not part of the curated dataset and do not affect the Skinceptor Evidence Index.

No approved community submissions yet.

Sources

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