Intensification Of Bioactive Compounds Extraction From Medicinal Plants Using Ultrasonic Irradiation.

Extraction processes are largely used in many chemical, biotechnological and pharmaceutical industries for recovery of bioactive compounds from medicinal plants. To replace the conventional extraction techniques, new techniques as high-pressure extraction processes that use environment friendly solvents have been developed. However, these techniques, sometimes, are associated with low extraction rate. The ultrasound can be effectively used to improve the extraction rate by the increasing the mass transfer and possible rupture of cell wall due the formation of microcavities leading to higher product yields with reduced processing time and solvent consumption. This review presents a brief survey about the mechanism and aspects that affecting the ultrasound assisted extraction focusing on the use of ultrasound irradiation for high-pressure extraction processes intensification.888-9

Nanostructures as conveyors of functionality in foods: the case of cannabidiol-based nanostructured lipid carriers

Nanostructures incorporating functional compounds have earned their place as a very efficient means of conveying functionality in foods. They may be used to tackle malnutrition, reduce calorie density, reduce food digestibility, increase micronutrient bioavailability, control gut health, allow personalized nutrition and provide appropriate food for the elderly, among other potential uses. Building such nanostructures, particularly when considering that they need to be edible, is a challenging task. This keynote will address the latest developments made by our research group towards tackling some of these challenges, together with our vision on what still needs to be done and which partnerships are important to lead us to further improve their performance. The incorporation of cannabidiol (CBD) into nanostructured lipid carriers (NLC) will be given as an example of a potential solution to mitigate its low bioavailability, which represents a big challenge for the development of CBD-products. Some details regarding their development (e.g., using innovative emulsifiers) will be provided and the consequences in the stability of CBD will be analysed.info:eu-repo/semantics/publishedVersio

Development and characterization of nanostructured lipid carriers for cannabidiol delivery

Supplementary data to this article can be found online at https://doi.org/10.1016/j.foodchem.2023.138295.This study evaluated the physicochemical characteristics of nanostructured lipid carriers (NLCs) as a potential vehicle for cannabidiol (CBD), a lipophilic molecule with great potential to promote health benefits. NLCs were produced using hemp seed oil and fully-hydrogenated soybean oil at different proportions. The emulsifiers evaluated were soybean lecithin (SL), Tween 80 (T80) and a mixture of SL:T80 (50:50). CBD was tested in the form of CBD-rich extract or isolate CBD, to verify if it affects the NLCs characteristics. Based on particle size and polydispersity, SL was considered the most suitable emulsifier to produce the NLCs. All lipid proportions evaluated had no remarkable effect on the physicochemical characteristics of NLCs, resulting in CBD-loaded NLCs with particle size below 250 nm, high CBD entrapment efficiency and CBD retention rate of 100% for 30 days, demonstrating that NLCs are a suitable vehicle for both CBD-rich extract or isolate CBD.This study received funding from the European Union’s Horizon 2020 research and innovation programme under the Marie SkłodowskaCurie grant agreement No 101062938 and was supported by Portuguese Foundation for Science and Technology (FCT) under the scope of the strategic funding of UIDB/04469/2020 unit, and by LABBELS – Associate Laboratory in Biotechnology, Bioengineering and Microelectromechanical Systems, LA/P/0029/2020. Fernanda L. Lüdtke thanks Iceland Liechtenstein Norway Grants (PT-INNOVATION-0105) for the fellowship