Encapsulation of Natural Bioactive Compounds: Nanoemulsion Formulation to Enhance Essential Oils Activities

The microencapsulation technology consists of a trap of a compound inside a tiny sphere known as microsphere. The microencapsulation concerns many different active materials such as bioactive compounds, drugs, vitamins, enzymes, flavors, and pesticides. This technology has gained real interest in numerous fields such as agriculture, cosmetic, pharmaceutical, textile, and food. This chapter highlights the encapsulation of essential oils into nanoemulsion-based delivery system as a model for the encapsulation of natural bioactive compounds. Moreover, an investigation of different parameters affecting the stability of produced nanoemulsion was conducted, in addition to the study of the effect of the nanoencapsulation of essential oils on their antibacterial activity. Finally, an enumeration of the advantages of encapsulating essential oils into nanoemulsion-based delivery systems in order to provide a natural food preservatives has been provided

Antidiabetic, antihyperlipidemic and antioxidant influences of the spice cinnamon (Cinnamomum zeylanicumon) in experimental rats

The present study investigates the effect of cinnamon (Cinnamomum zeylanicumon) powder supplementation on glucose levels, lipid profiles, and oxidative stress parameters in alloxan-induced diabetic rats. Diabetes was induced in adult male Wistar rats via a single subcutaneous alloxan injection (15 mg/kg). Cinnamon powder was mixed with the standard feed of the rats in an amount of 5% for 28 consecutive days. Serum concentrations of total cholesterol (TC) and triglycerides (TG) were assayed at the end of the experimental period in all investigated groups. Anti-oxidative enzymes such as glutathione peroxidase (GPx), catalase (CAT) and superoxide dismutase (SOD) were sought in the serum and pancreas. Alloxan caused the fasting blood sugar level to increase. The administration of cinnamon blocked the increase of blood glucose. There was also a significant difference in the TG and TC levels between control and treated diabetic rats. In diabetic rats, cinnamon treatment restored the activities of SOD, CAT and GPx. These findings suggested that cinnamon has an anti-hyperglycemic effect, improves lipid profiles, and protect against damage induced by oxidative stress in the diabetic state

Upshot of the ripening time on biological activities, phenol content and fatty acid composition of Tunisian Opuntia ficus-indica fruit

Total phenol content and the antioxidant activities of three cultivars of Opuntia ficus-indica (L.) Mill. were evaluated. The results show that the ecotypes were significantly different according to their fatty acid composition, antioxidant and antibacterial activity, as well as their polyphenol profiles. Rossa fruit collected in August exhibited the higher phenolic content (15.48 mg GAE g−1 DW) with a stronger antioxidant activity. Bianca fruit collected in August exhibited a lower phenolic content (3.13 mg GAE g−1 DW) together with the stronger antiradical activity (96.14%). The advantage of this ecotype was more discernible as compared to positive controls butylated  hydroxytoluene (BHT, 79.75%). Likewise, CpG chromatogram identification revealed also an important difference between the ecotypes on oleic and linoleic acids.Keywords: Opuntia ficus-indica, variability, phenol content, fatty acid, antioxidant activity.African Journal of Biotechnology Vol. 12(40), pp. 5875-588

Development and Characterization of Novel Bigel-Based 1,4-Naphthoquinones for Topical Application with Antioxidant Potential

Discovering new antioxidant agents and optimizing their processing is a necessity to treat skin diseases. The assessment of quality and antioxidant activity of topical formulations based on 5,8-dihydroxy-1,4-naphthoquinone (M1) and 2,3-dichloro-5,8-dihydroxy-1,4-naphthoquinone (M2) was carried out for the first time for this purpose. Stability studies including evaluation of pH, viscosity, microscopic observation, and microbiological quality were determined. M1 and M2 were examined for their antioxidant capacities after their incorporation into bigels. Obtained data suggested that BG-M1 and BG-M2 have a good quality, a natural pH of the skin (4.5–6.0), and no sign of microbial development. Sensory analysis was also performed, and no negative assessment of unpleasant bigel properties was found. M1 and M2 have shown antioxidant activity toward DPPH radical (data are expressed as IC50), 19 × 10−3 mg/mL for M1 and 35 × 10−3 mg/mL for M2, respectively. After their formulations, they have maintained this ability, for BG-M1 = 3.0 and BG-M2 = 1.1 mg/mL. Also, they demonstrated interesting ABTS scavenging with 1.5 × 10−3 and 2.5 × 10−3 mg/mL for M1 and M2, respectively. They kept this potential after formulation, since, BG-M1 = 1.7 mg/mL and BG-M2 = 4.9 mg/mL. Likewise, pure molecules revealed notable β-carotene bleaching inhibition (0.3 and 0.1 mg/mL for M1 and M2, respectively), which was maintained after their formulation into bigels (2.9 and 10.3 mg/mL for BG-M1 and BG-M2, respectively). These developed bigels maintaining the antioxidant potential of M1 and M2 could be used as the provision of a barrier to protect skin

Antioxidant, anti-inflammatory and anticancer activities of the medicinal halophyte Reaumuria vermiculata

Reaumuria vermiculata is a xero-halophytic specie widely distributed in the south of Tunisia. In the current study, antioxidant, anti-inflammatory and anticancer activities of Reaumuria vermiculata shoot extracts as well as its phenolic compounds were investigated in different solvent extracts (hexane, dichloromethane, methanol and water). Results showed a strong antioxidant activity, using the ORAC method and a cell based-assay, in methanol extract as well as an important phenolic composition (117.12 mg GAE/g). Hexane and dichloromethane proved an interesting anticancer activity against A-549 lung carcinoma cells, with IC50 values of 17 and 23 μg/ml, respectively. Besides, dichloromethane extract displayed the utmost anti-inflammatory activity, inhibiting NO release over 100 % at 80 μg /ml in LPS-stimulated RAW 264.7. Taken together, these finding suggest that R. vermiculata exhibited an interesting biological activities which may be related to the phenolic composition of this plant. Moreover, the identification of phenolic compounds in R. vermiculata dichloromethane extract using RP-HPLC revealed that myricetin was the major molecule. These results allow us to propose R. vermiculata as a valuable source for bioactive and natural compounds exhibiting interesting biological capacities

The expected number of olympic medals: a case study of team Portugal at Tokyo 2020

The 2020 Summer Olympic Games reached to an end in Tokyo, Japan. Even though all the hiccups, constraints, and challenges imposed by the COVID-19 pandemic, the Games were successfully held in August 2021. For the first time in history, Team Portugal won four medals (one gold, one silver, and two bronzes). In 2018 the Portuguese Olympic Committee signed a contract with the Portuguese Institute of Sport and Youth (i.e., Portuguese government) listing the deliverables of the mission Tokyo 2020 against a funding scheme of 18.5 million euros (Contrato n.º 33-A/2018; Contrato -Programa de Desenvolvimento Desportivo n.º CP/1/DDF/2018). The document sets, among other goals and deliverables, that no less than two medals would be won at Tokyo 2020 (section IV.1. of the contract). On the road to Tokyo, Portugal got more than two medallists at World Championships in several Olympic sports. Indeed, there were six to eight potential medallists at the 2020 Olympic Games (O Jogo, 2021). There is evidence that just one-third to one-fourth of the Olympic athletes are able to excel and outperform at the Olympic Games. In the sport of competitive swimming, just 29.82% of all male Olympians and 53.84% of the finalists at Rio 2016 improved their entry times (Barbosa, 2016a). On average, only 30% of the swimmers were able to improve their entry time at the 2012 and 2016 Olympic Games (Barbosa, 2016b). At Rio 2016, Team Portugal was expected to win two medals out of nine potential medallists, i.e., almost 25% of effectiveness (Garcia, 2016). Thus, one can wonder if the Portuguese Olympic Committee was sensible, assuming that two athletes would reach the podium spot out of six to eight potential medallists. Also, it begs the question if the four medals won were an outstanding achievement, deemed as a substantial improvement of the Portuguese sports system or, if alternatively, the Portuguese Olympic Committee underestimated the number of medals that the country could win.info:eu-repo/semantics/publishedVersio

Variations in composition and antioxidant activity of Tunisian Pistacia lentiscusL. leaf essential oil

In this study, the composition and antioxidant activity of Pistacia lentiscus L. leaf essential oil (EO) from four Tunisian localities were investigated. The EO yields (%, w/w) of P. lentiscus leaf were 0.009% in Oued El Bir, 0.02% in Jebel Mansour, 0.007% in Siliana and 0.01% in Tabarka. The main compounds of Oued El Bir EO were terpinene-4-ol (41.24%) and α-terpineol (7.31%), whereas those of Jebel Mansour were α-pinene (9.48%), limonene (19.11%) and α-phellandrene (3.20%). In Siliana samples, terpinene-4-ol (23.32%), β-caryophyllene (22.62%) and α-terpineol (7.12%) were the main compounds. For P. lentiscus L. from Tabarka, α-terpineol (9.79%) and β-caryophyllene (38.33%) were the major constituents. Three chemotypes of P. lentiscus EO were identified for the first time in Tunisia. P. lentiscus EOs were also screened for their antioxidant activities. The 1,1-diphenyl-2-picrylhydrazyl assay gives an IC50 range value of 60–110 μg/mL for all the samples studied. EOs from different Tunisian localities showed lower β-carotene bleaching activity than butylated hydroxytoluene and butylated hydroxyanisol. P. lentiscus EO presents a very low capacity to chelate ferrous irons (IC50 = 80.8–104 μg/mL) and no metal chelating activity was recorded