Biowaxes from Palm Oil as Promising Candidates for Cosmetic Matrices and Pharmaceuticals for Human Use

The production of waxes from vegetable oils, such as palm oil, for use as a base material in products for human applications is an alternative to those derived from petroleum and animals. Seven palm oil-derived waxes, called biowaxes (BW1-BW7) in this work, were obtained by catalytic hydrotreating of refined and bleached African palm oil and refined palm kernel oil. They were characterized by three properties: compositional, physicochemical (melting point, penetration value, and pH), and biological (sterility, cytotoxicity, phototoxicity, antioxidant, and irritant). Their morphologies and chemical structures were studied by SEM, FTIR, UV-Vis, and ¹H NMR. The BWs presented structures and compositions similar to natural biowaxes (beeswax and carnauba). They had a high concentration of waxy esters (17%-36%) with long alkyl chains (C, 19-26) per carbonyl group, which are related to high melting points (<20-47.9 °C) and low penetration values (2.1-3.8 mm). They also proved to be sterile materials with no cytotoxic, phototoxic, antioxidant, or irritant activity. The biowaxes studied could be used in cosmetic and pharmacological products for human use.

Planteamiento de un modelo matemático de características macroscópicas de bioceras producidas del aceite de palma con interés comercial

Las bioceras obtenidas por hidrotratamiento de aceites vegetales se utilizan en la elaboración de productos cosméticos. Existen diversos trabajos sobre la composición química de las bioceras; sin embargo, no se encuentran reportes de cómo sus propiedades macroscópicas cambian dependiendo de su composición química. Por lo tanto, este trabajo consistió en implementar modelos matemáticos predictivos para seleccionar bioceras con características deseables para aplicación en la industria cosmética. Se determinaron las propiedades macroscópicas (punto de fusión e índices de acidez, saponificación, yodo) y la composición química (ésteres cerosos, alcoholes grasos, ácidos grasos, acilglicéridos y parafinas) a 34 muestras de bioceras. Se desarrolló un análisis estadístico descriptivo que permitió organizar las bioceras según sus propiedades macroscópicas, asignando una calificación relacionada con la calidad de la muestra; en una escala sobre 4, las calificaciones variaron entre 1,5 y 3,25. También se plantearon modelos matemáticos predictivos para cada propiedad macroscópica de las bioceras en función de su composición química. Se seleccionaron cinco bioceras con mayor puntaje y se calcularon los parámetros fisicoquímicos a través de los modelos obtenidos, observándose un error del modelo menor que 6% en el punto de fusión e índice de acidez. Estas bioceras seleccionadas podrían ser empleadas en la formulación de cosméticos de interés comercial.

Preparative Separation of Procyanidins from Cocoa Polyphenolic Extract: Comparative Study of Different Fractionation Techniques

To provide further insight into the antioxidant potential of procyanidins (PCs) from cocoa beans, PC extract was fractionated by several methodologies, including solid phase extraction, Sephadex LH-20 gel permeation, and preparative HPLC using C18 and diol stationary phases. All the isolated fractions were analyzed by UHPLC-QTOF-MS to determine their relative composition. According to our results, classical techniques allowed good separation of alkaloids, catechins, dimers, and trimers, but were inefficient for oligomeric PCs. Preparative C18-HPLC method allowed the attainment of high relative composition of fractions enriched with alkaloids, catechins, and PCs with degree of polymerization (DP) < 4. However, the best results were obtained by preparative diol-HPLC, providing a separation according to the increasing DP. According to the mass spectrometry fragmentation pattern, the nine isolated fractions (Fractions II–X) consisted of exclusively individual PCs and their corresponding isomers (same DP). In summary, an efficient, robust, and fast method using a preparative diol column for the isolation of PCs is proposed. Regarding DPPH^• and ABTS^•+ scavenging activity, it increases according to the DP; therefore, the highest activity was for cocoa extract > PCs > monomers. Thereby, cocoa procyanidins might be of interest to be used as alternative antioxidants.

Food-Safe Process for High Recovery of Flavonoids from Cocoa Beans: Antioxidant and HPLC-DAD-ESI-MS/MS Analysis

Considering the increasing interest in the incorporation of natural antioxidants in enriched foods, this work aimed to establish a food-grade and suitable procedure for the recovery of polyphenols from cocoa beans avoiding the degreasing process. The results showed that ultrasound for 30 min with particle sample size < 0.18 mm changed the microstructure of the cell, thus increasing the diffusion pathway of polyphenols and avoiding the degreasing process. The effect of temperature, pH, and concentration of ethanol and solute on the extraction of polyphenols was evaluated. Through a 24 full factorial design, a maximum recovery of 122.34 ± 2.35 mg GAE /g, 88.87 ± 0.78 mg ECE /g, and 62.57 ± 3.37 mg ECE /g cocoa beans, for total concentration of polyphenols (TP), flavonoids (TF), and flavan-3-ols (TF3), respectively, was obtained. Based on mathematical models, the kinetics of the solid-liquid extraction process indicates a maximum equilibrium time of 45 min. Analysis by HPLC-DAD-ESI-MS/MS showed that our process allowed a high amount of methylxanthines (10.43 mg /g), catechins (7.92 mg /g), and procyanidins (34.0 mg /g) with a degree of polymerization >7, as well as high antioxidant activity determined by Oxygen Radical Absorbance Capacity (1149.85 ± 25.10 µMTrolox eq /g) and radical scavenging activity (DPPH•, 120.60 ± 0.50 µM Trolox eq /g). Overall, the recovery method made possible increases of 59.7% and 12.8% in cocoa polyphenols content and extraction yield, respectively. This study showed an effective, suitable and cost-effective process for the extraction of bioactive compounds from cocoa beans without degreasing.

Insight of Stability of Procyanidins in Free and Liposomal Form under an in Vitro Digestion Model: Study of Bioaccessibility, Kinetic Release Profile, Degradation, and Antioxidant Activity

Small unilamellar and multilayered liposomes loaded with polymeric (epi)catechins up to pentamers were produced. The bioaccessibility, kinetic release profile, and degradation under in vitro gastrointestinal conditions were monitored by UHPLC-DAD-QTOF-MS/MS. The results show that all of the procyanidins underwent depolymerization and epimerization into small molecular oligomers and mainly to (epi)catechin subunits. Moreover, all of the liposome formulations presented higher bioaccessibility and antioxidant activity in comparison to their respective counterparts in non-encapsulated form. Similar results were obtained with procyanidins from cocoa extract-loaded liposomes. Namely, the bioaccessibility of dimer, trimer, and tetramer fractions from cocoa-loaded liposomes were 4.5-, 2.1-, and 9.3-fold higher than those from the non-encapsulated cocoa extract. Overall, the procyanidin release profile was dependent on their chemical structure and physicochemical interaction with the lipid carrier. These results confirmed that liposomes are efficient carriers to stabilize and transport procyanidins with the aim of enhancing their bioaccessibility at a controlled release rate.

Design, Fabrication, Characterization, and In Vitro Digestion of Alkaloid-, Catechin-, and Cocoa Extract-Loaded Liposomes

Liposomes containing theobromine, caffeine, catechin, epicatechin, and a cocoa extract were fabricated using microfluidization and sonication. A high encapsulation efficiency and good physicochemical stability were obtained by sonication (75% amplitude, 7 min). Liposomes produced at pH 5.0 had mean particle diameter ranging from 73.9 to 84.3 nm. The structural and physicochemical properties of the liposomes were characterized by transmission electron microscopy, confocal fluorescence microscopy, and antioxidant activity assays. The release profile was measured by ultra-high performance liquid chromatography coupled to diode array detection. The bioaccessibility of the bioactive compounds encapsulated in liposomes was determined after exposure to a simulated in vitro digestion model. Higher bioaccessibilities were measured for all catechins-loaded liposome formulations as compared to nonencapsulated counterparts. These results demonstrated that liposomes are capable of increasing the bioaccessibility of flavan-3-ols, which may be important for the development of nutraceutical-enriched functional foods.