Slime beyond skincare
A local company, aided by a team of professors, looks at innovation to exploit the potential medical benefits of snail mucus. By Lamonphet Apisitniran
Snail slime has been popular among Thais for many years with the cosmetics industry extolling its virtues following studies that found a major component in the mucus has properties that help keep human skin looking smooth and young. Today, the gastropod, which has become an essential ingredient for many skincare brands, is about to become more popular as several studies have shown other substances found in snails can also be used for medical purposes.
Any such value-added projects are likely to gain support from the government, which is heavily promoting locally made products that match the goals of its Thailand 4.0 economic model.
Prof Supot Hannongbua saw snail-related imported products on store shelves a few years ago and was curious whether Thais could produce such products from local snails that are plentiful in ponds and rice fields. Prof Supot would eventually become of the four co-founders of Siam Snail Co Ltd.
“The research of several Chulalongkorn University professors, who have more than 30 years of experience on snails, sought out useful substances from mucus extracted from Thai snails that could be harvested for producing value-added goods,” he says.
The research identified over 600 snail strains in Thailand, but one in particular — Hemiplecta distincta — has special properties that make it suitable for cosmetic products.
Being native to the region, Hemiplecta distincta can withstand higher temperatures and diseases typically found in tropical climates such as Thailand. The substance found in this snail’s mucus is also more suitable for Asian skin than that of other races, says Prof Supot.
The substance extracted from the mucus also protects human skin from the sun, encouraging researchers to produce skin serum and sunscreen, he says.
“Most people think we extract the substance from the foot of the snail. That is incorrect because the snail’s feet are very dirty as they crawl around outside, so the mucus at the foot of the snail is very tough and unclean, with bigger molecules that are difficult to be absorbed by human skin,” says Prof Supot.
The slime it uses for skin products instead comes from the mantle, which the snail creates to protect and moisturise its skin.
The researchers are raising the snails on a big farm to secure a supply of raw materials for the beauty products and for use in further product innovation.
Prof Supot’s group created the Siam Snail 8 product and launched it in the local market, finding a warm response from Thai consumers.
He says a snail lives around five years and produces mucus for two to three years at room temperature of around 25C. They grow quite well when fed mushrooms.
“The most important thing is the snail should not be raised in under stressed circumstances or it will produce yellowish mucus, which is of low quality,” says Prof Supot.
With sufficient knowledge about snails and how to raise them, the group organised 30 million baht over three years to set up a snail farm. He says the farm has the capacity to produce around 4 million cubic centimetres of mucus a year.
News of the Thai snail farm spread and a Korean cosmetics producer approached the farm about buying its mucus, a request turned down by the company.
“We didn’t, and still do not, plan to be a supplier or an original equipment manufacturer for foreign companies because we want to develop our products ourselves, adding value to Thai products,” says Prof Supot.
Apiporn Pasawat, chairman of the executive board of Siam Bioscience Co and board member of Siam Snail Co Ltd, says the company is planning to apply biotechnology to the mucus to make medical products.
“The mucus has good properties in protecting human skin and healing wounds, so we are planning to invest another 20 million baht to develop medical products from the material,” says Mr Apiporn. This expansion project has already been proposed for the board’s approval.
The project also applied for investment promotion from the Board of Investment, aiming for incentives as it falls into the 10 targeted industries the government wants to promote.
The targeted industries are: next-generation cars; smart electronics; affluent, medical and wellness tourism ; agriculture and biotechnology; food; robotics for industry; logistics and aviation; biofuels and biochemical; digital; and medical services.
“We expect this project to increase the value for Thai products made from a very simple, useful creature easily found in the country,” he says.
Siam Snail’s products have been guaranteed by major Korean cosmetics importers to be beneficial for skin, for both original formulas and a new whitening formula. Both formulas are very popular in the Korean market as well as in Thailand.
The company’s farm raises snails organically, which it claims is the first semi-natural snail farm in the world. The goal is to raise snails naturally so they create good quality mucus.
Mr Apiporn says Siam Snail plans to produce more varieties of skincare, sunscreen and other medical products to penetrate Asian markets in the near future, after its products have been widely accepted by Thais. The company believes Thai snails will be much sought after when other markets understand how beneficial their mucus is for skin care.
We didn’t, and still do not, plan to be a supplier or an original equipment manufacturer for foreign companies because we want to develop our products ourselves, adding value to Thai products. PROF SUPOT HANNONGBUA Co-founder, Siam Snail Co Ltd