Evaluation of foam properties of saponin from Ilex paraguariensis A. St. Hil. (Aquifoliaceae) fruits

Saponins are natural compounds able to form abundant foam, a desirable quality required in some chemical, foods, cosmetic and pharmaceutical processes. Ilex paraguariensis A. St. Hil. (Aquifoliaceae) known as mate, is a South American widely cultivated specie due to the preparation of a tea-like beverage from its leaves. Moreover, its green fruits are a rich source of non-toxic and very low haemolytic saponins. In this study, mate saponin fraction (MSF) was evaluated as a foam former, focusing on its foamability, foam lifetime, and film drainage in the presence of different electrolytes (ionic strength I = 0.024 M). Sodium dodecyl sulphate (SDS) and polysorbate 80 (Poly-80) were used as reference surfactants. The critical micelle concentration (CMC), the minimum attainable surface tension (γCMC), surface excess concentration (Γ) and cross-section molecular surface (A) values of MSF were comparable to those of Poly-80. The foamability of MSF and both reference surfactants was equivalent. The addition of MgCl2 resulted in a negative effect on MSF foamability. The salts NaCl, KBr, and KNO3 exhibited a negative influence on MSF foam lifetime. Similar behavior was observed for MSF film drainage (order of activity: Na2HPO4 >; MgCl2 ≈ NaCl ≈ KNO3 >; KBr), where a primary fast film drainage rate was followed by film thinning stabilization after around 5 min. The behavior described above seems to be uncorrelated to the solutions' zeta potential.As saponinas são compostos naturais capazes de formar espuma abundante, qualidade desejável exigida em alguns processos químicos, alimentícios, cosméticos e farmacêuticos. Ilex paraguariensis A. St. Hil. (Aquifoliaceae), mais conhecida como mate, é uma espécie largamente cultivada devido ao consumo do chimarrão. Além disso, seus frutos verdes representam uma fonte rica de saponinas pouco tóxicas e pouco hemolíticas. Nesse trabalho avaliou-se a fração de saponinas de mate (MSF) como formadora de espuma, com ênfase na espumabilidade, permanência da espuma e drenagem do filme na presença de diferentes eletrólitos (I = 0,024 M). Dodecil sulfato de sódio (SDS) e polissorbato 80 (Poly-80) foram utilizados como tensoativos-referência. Os valores de concentração micelar crítica (CMC), tensão superficial na CMC (γCMC), concentração de excesso de superfície (Γ) e área do grupamento polar na interface (A) referente à MSF foram comparáveis ao Poly-80. A espumabilidade da MSF e de ambos os tensoativos-referência foram equivalentes. A adição de MgCl2 resultou em um efeito negativo sobre a espumabilidade de MSF. Os sais NaCl, KBr e KNO3 tiveram influência negativa sobre a estabilidade da espuma. Em relação à drenagem do filme de MSF, após 60 min. seguiu-se a ordem Na2HPO4 >; MgCl2 ≈ NaCl ≈ KNO3 >; KBr, caracterizando uma drenagem inicial acelerada seguida pelo equilíbrio hidrodinâmico do filme após 5 min. O comportamento observado parece não estar relacionado com o potencial zeta das soluções

Anti-trichomonas vaginalis activity of saponins from Ilex paraguariensis ("mate") fruits

This study evaluates the in vitro anti-trichomonads activity of a saponin enriched fraction (MSF) obtained from the fruits of Ilex paraguariensis A. St. Hil. (Aquifoliaceae). The MSF showed better anti-trichomonads activity than polysorbate and tyloxapol. A similar activity was obtained for quillaja saponins, but this fraction presented the highest cytotoxicity to mammalian cells as follows: quillaja > tyloxapol > polysorbate 80 > MSF. Neither the co-addition of MSF and metronidazole (MTZ) nor the pretreatment of the trophozoites with MSF prior to the addition of MTZ elicited a significant effect on MTZ activity.Colegio de Farmacéuticos de la Provincia de Buenos Aire

Avaliação da estabilidade da espuma obtida com frações purificadas de saponinas de erva-mate pela função de Weibull

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Foam-forming properties of Ilex paraguariensis (mate) saponin: foamability and foam lifetime analysis by Weibull equation

Saponins are natural soaplike foam-forming compounds widely used in foods, cosmetic and pharmaceutical preparations. In this work foamability and foam lifetime of foams obtained from Ilex paraguariensis unripe fruits were analyzed. Polysorbate 80 and sodium dodecyl sulfate were used as reference surfactants. Aiming a better data understanding a linearized 4-parameters Weibull function was proposed. The mate hydroethanolic extract (ME) and a mate saponin enriched fraction (MSF) afforded foamability and foam lifetime comparable to the synthetic surfactants. The linearization of the Weibull equation allowed the statistical comparison of foam decay curves, improving former mathematical approaches

Washing-resistant surfactant coated surface is able to inhibit pathogenic bacteria adhesion

AbstractSurface-active substances, which are able to organize themselves spontaneously on surfaces, triggering changes in the nature of the solid–liquid interface, are likely to influence microorganism adhesion and biofilm formation. Therefore, this study aimed to evaluate chemical non-ionic surfactants activity against pathogenic microbial biofilms and to cover biomaterial surfaces in order to obtain an anti-infective surface. After testing 11 different surfactants, Pluronic F127 was selected for further studies due to its non-biocidal properties and capability to inhibit up to 90% of biofilm formation of Gram-positive pathogen and its clinical isolates. The coating technique using direct impregnation on the surface showed important antibiofilm formation characteristics, even after extensive washes. Surface roughness and bacterial surface polarity does not influence the adhesion of Staphylococcus epidermidis, however, the material coated surface became extremely hydrophilic. The phenotype of S. epidermidis does not seem to have been affected by the contact with surfactant, reinforcing the evidence that a physical phenomenon is responsible for the activity. This paper presents a simple method of surface coating employing a synthetic surfactant to prevent S. epidermidis biofilm formation