Abstract: Mycosporine-like amino acids (MAAs) are a class of secondary metabolites of aquatic organisms and widely found in many kinds of aquatic organisms.In the chemical structure,they are water-soluble active substances formed through condensation of cyclohexenone,the basic skeleton,with a variety of amino acids.According to reports,MAAs exhibited rare photoprotective effect.In recent years,they have been taken more and more attention and have becoming a research focus.This paper mainly introduced the research on the chemical structure,distribution,preparative technique and bioactivities of MAAs and their application in cosmetics.

Key words: mycosporine-like amino acids, UV-protective, distribution, preparation, biological activity