In vitro evaluation of the safety profile of cosmeceuticals containing growth factors and their analogues

Introduction: Aging skin is a condition that affects (or will affect) all people, and its treatment is considered a clinical challenge. Growth factors and their analogues are emerging as a promising therapeutic option. Objectives: To evaluate the safety profile of some dermocosmetic products with formulations based on growth factors - or their analogs intended for that purpose - using in vitro human skin cell culture models. Methods: Two types of cell cultures were studied, and the effects of the study products on the proliferation of melanoma cells and normal human fibroblasts were evaluated. Results: No significant morphological alterations were found in the cultured human melanoma, and no significant decrease in the number of healthy cells was verified in the normal fibroblasts culture. In some cases there was even a proliferation of those cells. Conclusions: These preliminary data demonstrate that cosmeceutical products containing growth factors as an active principle can be considered safe for topical application.

Carotenoids and polyphenols in nutricosmetics, nutraceuticals, and cosmeceuticals

The market for cosmeceuticals continues with significant annual growth, but today consumers are more aware of nutritional products that contribute to both skin health and disease prevention. In the last 10 years, pharmacists, chemists, nutritionists, and physicians have been working together to develop new nutritional applications to satisfy peoples needs and demands. As a recent result of convergence phenomenon between cosmetics and food industries, nutricosmetics is a blurry area unfamiliar to many consumers and sometimes even to foods and cosmetics experts. Characterized by oral supplementation of nutrients, nutricosmetics are also known as beauty pills,beauty from within, and even oral cosmetics. The major claim is the antiaging effect, reducing wrinkles by fighting free radicals generated by solar radiation. Among the ingredients used in nutricosmetics, antioxidants represent the most crucial. The best-known antioxidants are carotenoids (beta-carotene, lycopene, lutein, zeaxanthin, and astaxanthin) and polyphenols (anthocyanidins, catechins, flavonoids, tannins, and procyanidins). This study presents an overview about the concept of nutricosmetics and gives us information about the difference between nutricosmetics, nutraceuticals, and cosmeceuticals. The article also discusses about carotenoids and polyphenols, two classes of ingredients often employed in such products.

Isolation and Characterization of Ovomucin - a Bioactive Agent of Egg White

The hen’s egg is a source of new life. Therefore, it contains many biologically active compounds. In addition to being a very nutritious food and also commonly used in the food industry due to its many techno-functional properties, the egg can serve as a source of compounds used as nutra-, pharmaand cosmeceuticals. One such interesting compound is ovomucin, an egg white protein responsible for the gel-like properties of thick egg white. Previous studies have indicated that ovomucin and ovomucin-derived peptides have several different bioactive properties. The objectives of the present study were to develop isolation methods for ovomucin, to characterize the structure of ovomucin, to compare various egg fractions as sources of ovomucin, to study the effects of various dissolving methods for ovomucin, and to investigate the bioactive properties of ovomucin and ovomucin-derived peptides. A simple and rapid method for crude ovomucin separation was developed. By using this method crude ovomucin was isolated within hours, compared to the 1-2 days (including a dialysis step) needed when using several other methods. Structural characterization revealed that ovomucin is composed of two subunits, α- and β-ovomucin, as egg white protein formerly called α1-ovomucin seemed to be ovostatin. However, it might be possible that ovostatin is associated within β- and α-ovomucin. This interaction could even have some effect on the physical nature of various egg white layers. Although filtration by-product fraction was a very prominent source of both crude and β-ovomucin, process development has reduced its amount so significantly that it has no practical meaning anymore. Thus, the commercial liquid egg white is probably the best option, especially if it generally contains amounts of β-ovomucin as high as were found in these studies. Crude ovomucin was dissolved both by using physical and enzymic methods. Although sonication was the most effective physical method for ovomucin solubilisation, colloid milling seemed to be a very promising alternative. A milk-like, smooth and opaque crude ovomucin suspension was attained by using a colloid mill. The dissolved ovomucin fractions were further tested for bioactive properties, and it was found that three dissolving methods tested produced moderate antiviral activity against Newcastle disease virus, namely colloid milling, enzymatic hydrolysis and a combination of sonicaton and enzymatic hydrolysis. Moreover, trypsin-digested crude ovomucin was found to have moderate antiviral activity against avian influenza virus: both subtype H5 and H7.

Volatile profile of Spanish Cistus plants as sources of antimicrobials for industrial applications

Cistus is a plant genus traditionally used in folk medicine as remedy for several microbial disorders and infections. The abundance of Cistus spp. in the Iberian Peninsula together with their ability to renew after wildfire contribute to their profitability as suppliers of functional ingredients. The aim of this study was to provide a comprehensive characterization of the volatile profile of different Cistus plants grown in Spain:Cistus ladanifer L., Cistus albidus L., Cistus salviifolius L., and Cistus clusii Dunal (the latter has not been studied before). A system combining headspace solid-phase microextraction and gas chromatography coupled to mass spectrometry (HS-SPME-GC–MS) was implemented; thereby, the volatile compounds were extracted and analyzed in a fast, reliable and environment-friendly way. A total of 111 volatile compounds were identified, 28 of which were reported in Cistus for the first time. The most abundant components of the samples (mono and sesquiterpenes) have been previously reported as potent antimicrobial agents. Therefore, this work reveals the potential use of the Cistus spp. studied as natural sources of antimicrobial compounds for industrial production of cosmeceuticals, among other applications.

Desenvolvimento e caracterização de um sabonete contendo borras de café

Desde da antiguidade que o ser humano se preocupa com a sua aparência externa, em especial com a pele. Para além do desenvolvimento de cosméticos, surgiram também produtos mais complexos, os cosmecêuticos, que diferem dos cosméticos devido a poderem influenciar a função biológica da pele, causando modificações positivas e duráveis. O conceito de sustentabilidade é usado para definir ações e atividades humanas que visam suprir as necessidades atuais dos seres humanos, sem comprometer o futuro das próximas gerações. Ou seja, a sustentabilidade está diretamente relacionada ao desenvolvimento económico e material sem agredir o meio ambiente, utilizando os recursos naturais de forma inteligente para que eles se mantenham no futuro. Seguindo estes parâmetros, a humanidade pode garantir o desenvolvimento sustentável. As borras de café são consideradas como um subproduto alimentar, sem grande reutilização, o que promove danos no impacto ambiental. Por outro lado, as borras de café podem exercer grandes benefícios para a pele, pois são consideradas excelentes exfoliantes naturais com propriedades refirmantes. Os produtos à base de cafeína são aliados no combate à celulite, na estimulação da regeneração celular e da circulação sanguínea, bem como, no rejuvenescimento e revitalização da pele. Este trabalho consistiu no desenvolvimento de um sabonete, contendo borras de café, como forma de reaproveitamento de um subproduto alimentar rico em cafeína, com o intuito de obter produtos com boas propriedades cosméticas e elevada estabilidade física e química. As borras de café foram analisadas em termos da sua estabilidade física e química através de ensaios de estabilidade acelerada por centrifugação, textura, reologia e doseamento do teor de cafeína por HPLC. Os resultados obtidos através do controlo físico-químico dos sabonetes, da determinação do potencial irritante cutâneo e da análise sensorial efectuada em voluntários humanos, demonstraram que é possível preparar sabonetes de borra de café com boa estabilidade físico-química, boa tolerância cutânea e com características sensoriais adequadas, utilizando uma base de sabão constituída pelos ingredientes (INCI): Sodium Palmate, Sodium Palm Kernelate, Aqua (water), Glycerine, Fragância de café, Sodium Chloride, Butyrospermum Parkii Butter (Shea Butter), CI 778911 (Titanium Dioxide), Tetrasodium EDTA, CI 77499, Linalool e à qual foi adicionada 5% de borras de café.