Towards a sustainable and green extraction of curcuminoids using the essential oil of Cinnamomum cassia

A natural and sustainable alternative to conventional solvents in terms of solubilization and extraction of curcuminoids from Curcuma longa L. was investigated. By mixing ethanol with natural aromas, a drastic increase (up to 30-fold) of curcumin solubility with regard to pure ethanol could be achieved. Through a solubility screening of ten naturally abundant aromas with different functionalities, conducted via UV/vis analysis, cinnamaldehyde was determined to be the most promising one. COSMO-RS calculations combined with 1H and NOESY NMR were conducted to determine the solving mechanism. As a natural source, rich in cinnamaldehyde, essential cinnamon oils were examined concerning their curcumin solving ability with regard to their chemical composition. The best oil, coming from Cinnamomum cassia with a cinnamaldehyde content of 79%, was used successively as a natural solvent for cycle extraction experiments. By encountering a premature saturation, a theoretical model for cycle extractions was proposed

Catanionic micelles as a model to mimic biological membranes in the presence of anesthetic alcohols

We show here the influence of n-alcohols (C2OH-C8OH) on the solubility behavior of cationic-anionic surfactant mixtures, so-called “catanionics”.Westudied catanionics of different compositions composed of sodium dodecyl sulfate (SDS)/cetyltrimethylammonium bromide (CTAB) and sodium dodecanoate (SDod)/CTAB mixtures. Interestingly, with a molar excess of SDS, long chain n-alcohols (C4OH-C8OH) significantly depress the solubility temperature of the SDS+CTAB catanionic and increase the kinetic stability of the solution. The visual observations of solubility temperatures of catanionics were further confirmed by differential scanning calorimetry (DSC) measurements. For the catanionics a multistep solubilization was observed by DSC, for which the sulfate headgroup is responsible. This was probed by replacing SDS by SDod. A remarkable analogy was found between the influence of the alcohols on the solubility patterns of the catanionic mixtures and on the anesthesia of tadpoles. Possible reasons for this analogy are discussed also in this paper

Improvement of the Solubilization and Extraction of Curcumin in an Edible Ternary Solvent Mixture

A water-free, ternary solvent mixture consisting of a natural deep eutectic solvent (NADES), ethanol, and triacetin was investigated concerning its ability to dissolve and extract curcumin from Curcuma longa L. To this purpose, 11 NADES based on choline chloride, acetylcholine, and proline were screened using UV–vis measurements. A ternary phase diagram with a particularly promising NADES, based on choline chloride and levulinic acid was recorded and the solubility domains of the monophasic region were examined and correlated with the system’s structuring via light scattering experiments. At the optimum composition, close to the critical point, the solubility of curcumin could be enhanced by a factor of >1.5 with respect to acetone. In extraction experiments, conducted at the points of highest solubility and evaluated via HPLC, a total yield of ~84% curcuminoids per rhizome could be reached. Through multiple extraction cycles, reusing the extraction solvent, an enrichment of curcuminoids could be achieved while altering the solution. When counteracting the solvent change, even higher concentrated extracts can be obtained

Sister Mary Joseph's Nodule at a University Teaching Hospital in Northwestern Tanzania: A Retrospective Review of 34 cases.

Sister Mary Joseph's nodule is a metastatic tumor deposit in the umbilicus and often represents advanced intra-abdominal malignancy with dismal prognosis. There is a paucity of published data on this subject in our setting. This study was conducted to describe the clinicopathological presentation and treatment outcome of this condition in our environment and highlight challenges associated with the care of these patients, and to proffer solutions for improved outcome. This was a retrospective study of histologically confirmed cases of Sister Mary Joseph's nodule seen at Bugando Medical Centre between March 2003 and February 2013. Data collected were analyzed using descriptive statistics. A total of 34 patients were enrolled in the study. Males outnumbered females by a ratio of 1.4:1. The vast majority of patients (70.6%) presented with large umbilical nodule > 2 cm in size. The stomach (41.1%) was the most common location of the primary tumor. Adenocarcinoma (88.2%) was the most frequent histopathological type. Most of the primary tumors (52.9%) were poorly differentiated. As the disease was advanced and metastatic in all patients, only palliative therapy was offered. Out of 34 patients, 11 patients died in the hospital giving a mortality rate of 32.4%. Patients were followed up for 24 months. At the end of the follow-up period, 14(60.9%) patients were lost to follow-up and the remaining 9 (39.1%) patients died. Patients survived for a median period of 28 weeks (range, 2 to 64 weeks). The nodule recurred in 6 (26.1%) patients after complete excision. Sister Mary Joseph's nodule of the umbilicus is not rare in our environment and often represents manifestation of a variety of advanced intra-abdominal malignancies. The majority of the patients present at a late stage and many with distant metastases. The patient's survival is very short leading to a poor outcome. Early detection of primary cancer at an early stage may improve the prognosis

The impact of the structuring of hydrotropes in water on the mesoscale solubilisation of a third hydrophobic component

In the present contribution, the pre-structuring of binary mixtures of hydrotropes and H2O is linked to the solubilisation of poorly water miscible compounds. We have chosen a series of short-chain alcohols as hydrotropes and benzyl alcohol, limonene and a hydrophobic azo-dye (Disperse Red 13) as organic compounds to be dissolved. A very weak pre-structuring is found for ethanol/H2O and 2-propanol/H2O mixtures. Pre-structuring is most developed for binary 1-propanol/H2O and tert-butanol/H2O mixtures and supports the bicontinuity model of alcohol-rich and water-rich domains as already postulated by Anisimov et al. Such a pre-structuring leads to a high solubilisation power for poorly water miscible components (limonene and Disperse Red, characterized by high octanol/water partition coefficients, log(P) values of 4.5 and 4.85), whereas a very weak pre-structuring leads to a high solubilisation power for slightly water miscible components (benzyl alcohol). This difference in solubilisation power can be linked to (i) the formation of mesoscale structures in the cases of ethanol and 2-propanol and (ii) the extension of pre-structures in the cases of 1-propanol and tert-butanol. Three different solubilisation mechanisms could be identified: bulk solubilisation, interface solubilisation and a combination of both. These supramolecular structures in binary and ternary systems were investigated by small-and-wide-angle X-ray and neutron scattering, dynamic light scattering and conductivity measurements (in the presence of small amounts of salt)

Ab-initio prediction of structuring / mesoscale inhomogeneities in surfactant-free microemulsions and hydrogen-bonding-free microemulsions

In this paper, we consider the influence of H-bond donor and acceptor functionalities on the formation of mesoscale inhomogeneities in ternary systems. It was found that hydrogen-bonding re-enforces such structures, but is not necessarily a prerequisite for the occurrence of mesoscale, microemulsion-like structuring in ternary surfactant-free microemulsions (SFME) and consequently, hydrogen-bonding-free microemulsions (HBFME) exist. The evaluated ternary systems were investigated by means of dynamic light scattering (DLS) and computer-based calculation methods. Theoretical COSMO-RS based calculations were applied to provide an explanation for different hydrotropic efficiencies, and COSMOplex calculations were used to predict and evaluate the propensity of the molecules to form mesoscale structures in SFME and HBFME. Microemulsion-like fluctuations could be observed in the COSMOplex simulations and correlate fairly well with the appearance of mesoscopic structures observed in SFME and HBFME, although the free energy differences in the formation of aggregate structures in the investigated systems are very small, in the range of 0.05 kcal mol(-1)