Agro-industrial By-Products from Amazonian Fruits: Use for Obtaining Bioproducts

Fruit processing contributes significantly to the agricultural exportation of the Amazonian; however, it generates large amounts of solid waste, despite its high content of bioactive compounds and nutritional properties, and they are discarded in the environment. Therefore, in order to add economic value and potential reuse of agro-industrial by-products from cocoa, cupuassu, pracaxi, and tucumã, we investigated the chemical characteristics of the seed by-product resulting from the industrial extraction of these oils. The investigation of the nutritional and chemical composition of by-product was submitted to green extraction, besides other qualitative and quantitative techniques for the characterization of the main bioactive compounds. The extracts obtained from these by-products had a significant total polyphenol content and antioxidant activity. HPLC analysis identified and quantified some flavonoids present in these by-products (gallic, caffeic and protocatechuic acid, epigallocatechin-3-gallate, epicatechin, catechin, and quercetin). The oil from these species is widely used in the treatment of skin scarring and inflammation and is also used by the cosmetic industry. These results show that these by-products have a great potential for use, since they still have bioactive substances in their composition, which could alternatively be used in the pharmaceutical, cosmetic, or food industries

Synthesis and characterization of polyacrylamide-co-methylcellulose hydrogels as a propranolol hydrochloride delivery systems

Polymer matrices such as ‖hydrogels‖ are controlled release systems that are being widely used the pharmaceutical industry. In this study, the hydrogels PAAmco-MC were obtained and characterized in order to carry the propranolol, an antihypertensive drug. These hydrogels are composed of two monomers (AAm and MC) and were synthesized by free radical polymerization, being investigated four concentrations of AAm (3.6%, 7.2%, 14.7% and 21.7% w / v). The characterization of the hydrogels was performed through studies of the degree of swelling, zeta potential, FT-IR, SEM, and thermal analysis (TG, DTA, DTG and DSC). The 3.6% hydrogel showed a greater degree of swelling in all analysis media. The zeta potential revealed that all hydrogels remain near the isoelectric point. The infrared absorption spectrum allowed the identification of characteristic bands of both the hydrogel as propranolol. The TG curves of the hydrogels evidenced their degradation in two stages, being observed in the DTG curve a higher mass loss at about 400°C and the DTA and DSC curves have confirmed the three endothermic events. On the other hand, propranolol has a single stage of degradation and its melting peak was at 163.4°C. Photomicrographs have revealed arrangement of the three-dimensional network of hydrogels. In the study of in vitro release kinetics of the release of propranolol from the hydrogel matrix was approximately 80% of drug within 424 hours, showing a bimodal model. This work showed that the PAAmco-MC hydrogel is a great promising for application in drug carrier systems.CAPES - Coordenação de Aperfeiçoamento de Pessoal de Nível SuperiorFAPESPA - Fundação Amazônia de Amparo a Estudos e PesquisasMatrizes poliméricas como os hidrogéis são sistemas de liberação controlada que estão sendo largamente utilizados na indústria farmacêutica. Neste trabalho os hidrogéis de PAAm-co-MC foram obtidos e caracterizados afim de carrear o propranolol, fármaco anti-hipertensivo. Os hidrogéis compostos pelos monômeros AAm e MC foram sintetizados por polimerização via radical livre, sendo investigada quatro concentrações de AAm (3,6%; 7,2%; 14,7% e 21,7% m/v). A caracterização dos hidrogéis foi realizada com os estudos de grau de intumescimento, potencial zeta, IR-FT, MEV e análises térmicas (TG, DTA, DTG e DSC). O hidrogel 3,6% apresentou maior grau de intumescimento em todos os meios de análise. O potencial zeta revelou que todos os hidrogéis permanecem próximo do ponto isoelétrico. O espectro de absorção do infravermelho permitiu identificar bandas características, tanto do hidrogel como do propranolol. As curvas de TG dos hidrogéis evidenciaram a degradação dos mesmos em dois estágios, sendo observado na curva DTG a maior perda de massa em torno de 400ºC e as curvas DTA e DSC confirmaram os três eventos endotérmicos. Já o propranolol apresentou um único estágio de degradação e seu pico de fusão foi em 163,4ºC. As microfotografias relevaram a disposição da rede tridimensional dos hidrogéis. A relação da adsorção propranolol/hidrogel foi de 573 mg/g, seguindo o modelo da isoterma de Langmuir. No estudo da cinética de liberação in vitro a liberação do propranolol a partir da matriz do hidrogel foi de aproximadamente 80% do fármaco em 424 horas, apresentando um modelo bimodal. A realização deste trabalho demonstrou que o hidrogel de PAAm-co-MC é um grande promissor para aplicação em sistemas carreadores de fármacos