In vitro bioactivity approach of unripe genipap (Genipa americana L., Rubiaceae) fruit extract and its solid lipid microparticle

The blue palette of life: A comprehensive review of natural bluish colorants with potential commercial applications

Considering the growing interest for safer, environmentally friendly and healthier products, the search for natural colorants to replace their synthetic has been raised. This is particularly challenging for the rare and usually unstable bluish coloring substances. This comprehensive review describes several bluish pigments which can be obtained from natural sources (plants and mostly microorganisms), covering less known molecules to well established compounds (although no focus is given for anthocyanins). Key information about each compound, including sources, extraction procedures, properties, and potential applications, are presented. Despite many studies on these molecules, toxicological and stability studies are still lacking for many of them. Therefore, this text also discusses the regulatory requirements for approving new coloring substances. Given the increasing robustness of scientific data supporting the biological activities attributed to many of these pigments, it is possible to envisage that some of them may be commercially available for industrial applications in different fields, not only in traditional food or cosmetic uses but in pharmaceutical formulations as well.

Chemical composition and antimicrobial activity of Cordiera myrciifolia leaves against pathogenic bacteria and fungi: Drug potentiation ability and inhibition of virulence

Cordiera myrciifolia is an abundant species in Northeast Brazil that presents metabolites of biological/therapeutic interest. From this perspective, the present study aimed to investigate the chemical constituents and evaluate the in vitro antimicrobial activity of hexane (HECM) and ethanolic (EECM) extracts of C. myrciifolia leaves. The extracts were analyzed by chromatographic techniques (GC and UPLC) coupled with mass spectrometry. The antimicrobial activity of the extracts and the extracts combined with conventional drugs was evaluated by microdilution. The in vitro effect of the treatments on Candida's morphological transition was verified through cultivation in humid chambers. In HECM, 11 constituents including fatty acids, and triterpenes, including phytosterols, alkanes, tocols, and primary alcohols were identified. Triterpenes represented >40% of the identified constituents, with Lupeol being the most representative. In EECM, 13 constituents were identified, of which eight belonged to the class of flavonoids. High antibacterial activity of HECM was detected against Escherichia coli and Staphylococcus aureus, with Minimum Inhibitory Concentrations of 8 and 16 μg/mL, respectively. The combined activity was more effective when combined with Norfloxacin and Imipenem. In anti-Candida activity, the IC50 of the extracts ranged from 36.6 to 129.1 μg/mL. There was potentiating effect when associated with Fluconazole. Both extracts inhibited the filamentous growth of C. tropicalis at a concentration of 512 μg/mL. C. myrciifolia extracts prove to be candidates for the development of new therapeutic formulations to treat bacterial and fungal infections.

Microparticulate and nanotechnology mediated drug delivery system for the delivery of herbal extracts

There has been a growing interest in the scientific community to explore the complete potential of phytoconstituents, herbal or plant-based ingredients owing to a range of benefits they bring along. The herbal plants accommodate many phytoconstituents that are responsible for various activities such as anti-oxidant, antimicrobial, anticancer, anti-inflammatory, anti-allergic, hepatoprotective, etc. However, these phytoconstituents are highly sensitive to several environmental and physiological factors such as pH, oxygen, heat, temperature, humidity, stomach acid, enzymes, and light. Hence, there is need for the development of a drug delivery system that can protect the phytoconstituents from both internal and external conditions. In this regard, a microparticulate drug delivery system is considered amongst the ideal choice owing to its small size, ability to protect the environment-sensitive active constituents, in achieving sustained drug delivery, targeted drug delivery, protection of the drug from physiological conditions, minimizing drug-related side effects, etc.

Microencapsulation by spray chilling in the food industry: Opportunities, challenges, and innovations

Background

The increasing demand for healthy eating habits and the emergence of the COVID-19 pandemic, which resulted in a health crisis and global economic slowdown, has led to the consumption of functional and practical foods. Bioactive ingredients can be an alternative for healthy food choices; however, most functional compounds are sensitive to the adverse conditions of processing and digestive tract, impairing its use in food matrices, and industrial-scale applications. Microencapsulation by spray chilling can be a viable alternative to reduce these barriers in food processing.

Scope and approach

This review discusses the use of spray chilling technique for microencapsulation of bioactive food ingredients. Although this technology is known in the pharmaceutical industry, it has been little exploited in the food sector. General aspects of spray chilling, the process parameters, advantages, and disadvantages are addressed. The feasibility and stability of encapsulated bioactive ingredients in food matrices and the bioavailability in vitro of solid lipid microparticles produced by spray chilling are also discussed.

Main findings and conclusions

Research on the microencapsulation of bioactive ingredients by spray chilling for use in foods has shown the effectiveness of this technique to encapsulate bioactive compounds for application in food matrices. Solid microparticles produced by spray chilling can improve the stability and bioavailability of bioactive ingredients. However, further studies are required, including the use of lipid-based encapsulating agents, process parameters, and novel formulations for application in food, beverages, and packaging, as well as in vivo studies to prove the effectiveness of the formulations.

Expanding Opportunities in Treatment of Leukemia by Solid Lipid Nanoparticles

Background:

Leukemia is a severe type of blood cancer that involves an abnormal proliferation of blood-forming cells. Its conventional treatment faces many challenges, including resistance, lack of specificity and high unwanted toxicity of drugs. Nano drug delivery systems help in overcoming these challenges by delivering the drug to the target site actively or passively. Solid lipid nanoparticles are gaining popularity because they reduce unwanted toxicity, are biocompatible, increase bioavailability and are versatile in terms of incorporated agents (hydrophilic as well as lipophilic drugs, genes, enzymes, etc.).

Purpose:

The aim of this review is to discuss recent advancements in anti-leukemic therapy utilizing solid lipid nanoparticles (SLNs) as successful carriers in enhancing the efficiency of the treatment and bioavailability of the incorporated drug along with overcoming multidrug resistance.

Methods:

This review represents the existing literature on the applications of SLNs in anti-leukemic therapy. A qualitative literature review has been performed for this purpose. We performed keyword research in popular databases such as Google Scholar, Wiley, Elsevier, Scopus, Google patent and PubMed. Only articles published in English and from reputed journals from specific fields were considered. Benchmark studies having major importance from 2000 to 2020 were selected to follow the progress in the field across the globe.

Results:

This article improves the understanding of the role of SLNs in the treatment of leukemia. Traditional anti-leukemic therapy involves many challenges, including resistance, lack of specificity and high unwanted toxicity of drugs. SLNs are emerging as a better alternative to conventional delivery systems as they can reduce unwanted toxicity, are biocompatible, and can provide active as well as passive molecular targeting.

Conclusion:

SLNs provide several advantages in drug delivery for leukemia, including enhancement of efficiency and bioavailability and reduction of toxicity by virtue of their small size, lipid core, non-dependency on organic solvents and versatility in terms of incorporated drugs.

Recent Developments in Solid Lipid Microparticles for Food Ingredients Delivery

Health food has become a prominent force in the market place, influencing many food industries to focus on numerous bioactive compounds to reap benefits from its properties. Use of these compounds in food matrices has several limitations. Most of the food bio-additives are sensitive compounds that may quickly decompose in both food and within the gastrointestinal tract. Since most of these bioactives are highly or partially lipophilic molecules, they possess very low water solubility and insufficient dispersibility, leading to poor bioavailability. Thus, various methods of microencapsulation of large number of food bioactives have been studied. For encapsulation of hydrophobic compounds several lipid carriers and lipid platforms have been studied, including emulsions, microemulsions, micelles, liposomes, and lipid nano- and microparticles. Solid lipid particles (SLP) are a promising delivery system, can both deliver bioactive compounds, reduce their degradation, and permit slow and sustained release. Solid lipid particles have important advantages compared to other polymer carriers in light of their simple production technology, including scale up ability, higher loading capacity, extremely high biocompatibility, and usually low cost. This delivery system provides improved stability, solubility in various matrixes, bioavailability, and targeting properties. This article reviews recent studies on microencapsulation of selected bioactive food ingredients in solid lipid-based carriers from a point of view of production methods, characteristics of obtained particles, loading capability, stability, and release profile.

Morin exhibits leukemic cellular apoptosis through caspase pathway

The present study investigated the possibility of apoptosis-inducing activity in human leukemia U-937 and THP-1 cells by the flavonoid morin. The treatments were evaluated by using the MTT and LDH assays; analysis of mitochondrial membrane potential (ΔΨm) was evaluated by flow cytometry, cell death by apoptosis was confirmed by fluorescence microscopy and by assessing the activity of caspases-3 and -6. The data indicated that the flavonoid morin has promoted a decrease in cell viability in a concentration-dependent way for both of the cancerous cell lines. An increase in the percentage of cell death caused by apoptosis was associated to a potential alteration in the mitochondrial membrane (ΔΨm) suggesting the involvement of cell death in intrinsic apoptotic pathways. Activation of caspases-3 and -6 confirmed the presence of apoptotic activity from morin. The results reinforce the antileukemic potential of flavonol morin.