Salicin and Hederacoside C-Based Extracts and UV-Absorbers Co-Loaded into Bioactive Lipid Nanocarriers with Promoted Skin Antiaging and Hydrating Efficacy.

Conventional and herbal active principles can be combined in a beneficial harmony using their best features and compensating for the certain weaknesses of each. The study will answer the question, "how can willow bark extract (Wbe) or ivy leaf extract (Ile) influence the photoprotective, skin permeation and hydration properties of Bioactive Lipid Nanocarriers (BLN) loaded with UV-filters and selected herbals?". BLN-Wbe/Ile-UV-filters were characterized for particle size, zeta potential, thermal behavior, entrapment efficiency and drug loading. The formulated BLN-hydrogels (HG) were subjected to in vitro release and permeation experiments. The in vitro determination of sun protection factors, as well as comparative in vitro photostability tests, rheology behavior and in vivo hydration status have been also considered for hydrogels containing BLN-Ile/Wbe-UV-filters. Photoprotection of BLN-HG against UVA rays was more pronounced as compared with the UVB (UVA-PF reached values of 30, while the maximum SPF value was 13). The in vitro irradiation study demonstrated the photostability of BLN-HG under UV exposure. A noteworthy cosmetic efficacy was detected by in vivo skin test (hydration effect reached 97% for the BLN-Wbe-UV-filters prepared with pomegranate oil). The research novelty, represented by the first-time co-optation of the active herbal extracts (Wbe and Ile) together with two synthetic filters in the same nanostructured delivery system, will provide appropriate scientific support for the cosmetic industry to design novel marketed formulations with improved quality and health benefices.

Harnessing a byproduct from wastewater treatment to obtain improved starch/poly(vinyl alcohol) composites.

A rational method to harness a triglyceride-based by-product containing chicken fat traces, extracted from the simulated slaughterhouses wastewater was adopted. Methacrylated linseed oil was used as photo-reactive monomer to "catch" the grease molecules, resulting in a polymeric network (PFrec), further embedded in starch/poly(vinyl alcohol) (St/PVA)-based composites, with or without plasticizer (glycerol-Gly), with enhanced properties. Hydrophobic additive improved the thermal stability of St/PVA blends, an 18 °C increase of Td3 % being registered for PFrec-loaded sample. Mechanical tests revealed that association of PFrec with Gly improved the flexibility and also reinforced the systems, although, no plasticizing effect was observed at PFrec addition. Solubility determinations for the St/PVA-based composite films showed that hydrophobic PFrec increased the water resistance with at least 40 %. According to contact angle measurements a good dispersion of PFrec in the St/PVA network was mediated at the interface by hydrophilic Gly molecules.

New Approach to Prepare Willow Bark Extract-Lipid Based Nanosystems with Enhanced Antioxidant Activity.

In this study the conventional oils used for lipid nanocarriers (NLCs) synthesis were replaced by high concentration of fish oils (e.g., fish oil concentrated in omega-3 fatty acids, fish oil enriched in omega-3 and omega-6 fatty acids and salmon oil), in order to produce appropriate lipid based nanosystems able to entrap willow bark extract (WBE). Formulation factors such as the nature of the fish oil, glycerol content and WBE loading were evaluated to produce optimum lipid based nanosystems with suitable physical stability and enhanced antioxidant activity. The synthesized WBE-NLC showed spherical and homogeneous particles and average diameters in the range of 200-250 nm, as determined by TEM measurements. The electrokinetic potentials were negative for all free- and WBE-loaded NLCs, with values between -29.1 ÷ - 35.8 mV, which reveal an excellent physical stability. By scanning calorimetry measurements it has been shown that the lipid crystallization and melting behavior of NLCs before and after loading with WBE were no significantly influenced by the type of fish oil used and only in a few NLCs formulations an obvious perturbation of lipid network have been detected. The chemiluminescence technique has been used to assess the effect of fish oil type on the in vitro antioxidant activity of WBE-NLCs. Ability of WBE entrapped within NLCs to scavange the free radicals was greater than for native WBE and fish oils. The difference between the antioxidant activity of WBE-NLC (98%) and those of pure WBE (AA% = 77.2) and fish oil (AA% = 83.7), may be explained by the occurrence of a synergistic effect between the components of lipid nanocarriers.

Integrative approach in prevention and therapy of basal cellular carcinoma by association of three actives loaded into lipid nanocarriers.

Basal cell carcinoma (BCC) is one of the commonest malignancies occurred on sun-exposed skin, mainly by UV-B radiation, of lighter-skinned individuals. The aim of the present study was to develop advanced drug delivery formulations used in BCC therapy that overcomes chemotherapy-induced side-effects of skin photosensitivity by an integrative approach of nanoencapsulation in conjunction with combination therapy that uses chemotherapeutic, chemoprotective and sunscreen agents. The combination of anticancer drug together with sunscreen agent is very useful in therapy, especially for individuals who are more exposed to the sun without using a sunscreen. Nanostructured lipid carriers (NLCs) employed as drug delivery systems were co-loaded with 5-fluorouracil (5-FU), a hydrophilic chemotherapeutic drug, and ethylhexyl salicylate (EHS), a lipophilic UV-B sunscreen agent. The NLCs were developed using bioactive squalene (50.8% w/w) from amaranth seed oil as chemoprotective agent. By varying the concentrations of 5-FU and EHS, the co-loaded NLCs presented particle sizes of about 100nm, acceptable physical stability with values smaller than -25mV and appropriate entrapment efficiency that reaches values over 65% for both types of drugs. The UV-B blocking ability of EHS loaded into NLCs were influenced by the concentration of 5-FU. The amaranth oil offered a capacity of 70% in scavenging the free radicals. In vitro drug release showed that NLCs presented sustained release of 5-FU that followed the Fick's law of diffusion.