Extraction of Gallic Acid and Ferulic Acid for Application in Hair Supplements.

Food supplements based on antioxidants and vitamins are often prescribed to correct inefficiencies in the human diet and delay diseases such as premature aging and alopecia (temporary or permanent hair loss), given the free radical scavenging activity of these biomolecules. By reducing the concentration of reactive oxygen species (ROS), which promote abnormal hair follicle cycling and morphology, follicle inflammation and oxidative stress are reduced, minimising the effects of these health issues. Gallic acid (GA), which is significantly present in gallnuts and in pomegranate root bark, and ferulic acid (FA), commonly found in brown rice and coffee seeds, are very important antioxidants for the preservation of hair colour, strength and growth. In this work, these two secondary phenolic metabolites were successfully extracted in the Aqueous Two-Phase Systems (ATPS) {ethyl lactate (1) + trisodium citrate (2) + water (3)} and {ethyl lactate (1) + tripotassium citrate (2) + water (3)} at 298.15 K and 0.1 MPa, moving towards the application of these ternary systems in extracting antioxidants from biowaste and their a posteriori processing as food supplements for hair fortification. The studied ATPS provided biocompatible and sustainable media for the extraction of gallic acid and ferulic acid, yielding low mass losses (<3%) and contributing to an eco-friendlier production of therapeutics. The most promising results were obtained for ferulic acid, which attained maximum partition coefficients (K) of 15 ± 5 and (3 ± 2) · 101 and maximum extraction efficiencies (E) of (92.7 ± 0.4)% and (96.7 ± 0.4)% for the longest tie-lines (TLL = 69.68 and 77.66 m%) in {ethyl lactate (1) + trisodium citrate (2) + water (3)} and {ethyl lactate (1) + tripotassium citrate (2) + water (3)}, respectively. Moreover, the effect of pH on the UV-Vis absorbance spectra was studied for all the biomolecules to minimise errors in solute quantification. Both GA and FA were found to be stable at the used extractive conditions.

Extraction of Polyphenols and Vitamins Using Biodegradable ATPS Based on Ethyl Lactate.

The growing human population, together with the inefficient use of natural resources, has been dramatically increasing the production of food waste, which poses serious economic, environmental, and social problems. Being so, it is necessary to increase the efficiency of food consumption so as to reduce its waste and to convert the remaining residues into societal benefits. Since this biowaste is rich in polyphenols and vitamins, it could become the feedstock for the production of important value-added compounds for the pharmaceutical (e.g., food supplements) and cosmetic (e.g., creams and shampoos) industries. In this work, partition studies of one polyphenol (epicatechin) and two B-complex vitamins (cyanocobalamin and nicotinic acid) were performed in biodegradable Aqueous Two-Phase Systems (ATPS) based on ethyl lactate and on organic salts (disodium tartrate, tripotassium citrate, and trisodium citrate) at 298.15 K and 0.1 MPa. The largest partition coefficient (K) and extraction efficiency (E) were obtained for vitamin B12 (K=78.56, E=97.5%) for the longest tie line TLL=77.66% in the ATPS {ethyl lactate (1) + tripotassium citrate (2) + water (3)}. All the extractions were obtained with low biomolecule mass losses in quantification (<5%) and after a thorough study of pH influence in the UV−Vis absorbance spectra.