Supercritical Carbon Dioxide Antisolvent Fractionation for the Sustainable Concentration of Lavandula luisieri (Rozeira) Riv.- Mart Antimicrobial and Antioxidant Compounds and Comparison with Its Conventional Extracts

Parabens as the double-edged sword: Understanding the benefits and potential health risks

Parabens are globally employed as important preservatives in pharmaceutical, food, and personal care products. Nonetheless, improper disposal of commercial products comprising parabens can potentially contaminate various environmental components, including the soil and water. Residues of parabens have been detected in surface water, ground water, packaged food materials, and other consumer items. Long-term exposure to parabens through numerous consumer products and contaminated water can harm human health. Paraben can modulate the hormonal and immune orchestra of the body. Recent findings have correlated paraben use with hypersensitivity, obesity, and infertility. Notably, parabens have also been detected in the samples of breast cancer patients, suggesting a potential cross-talk between parabens and carcinogenesis. Therefore, the present article aims to dissect the significance of parabens as a preservative in several consumer products and their impact of chronic exposure to human health. This review encompasses various facets of paraben, including its sources, mechanism of action at the molecular level, and sheds light on its toxicological implications on human health.

Novel bioactive extract from yarrow obtained by the supercritical antisolvent-assisted technique inhibits lipid metabolism in colorectal cancer

Background: Altered lipid metabolism in cancer is associated to dissemination and prognosis. Bioactive compounds naturally occurring in Achillea millefolium L. (yarrow) have been reported to exert antitumour activities. Food biotechnology may provide on-demand mixtures of bioactive compounds with complementary activities in cancer treatment. Methods: Supercritical-antisolvent-precipitation (SAS) has been applied to fractionate the bioactive compounds from an Ultrasound-Assisted-Extraction yarrow extract resulting in two extracts with distinct polarity, yarrow-precipitate-(PP) and yarrow-separator-(Sep). Total phenolic content and relevant essential oils have been characterized. Antioxidant, anti-inflammatory and antiproliferative activities have been compared. Moreover, the effect on the inhibition of colorectal cancer cells' bioenergetics has been evaluated. Results: Yarrow-PP exerted the highest antioxidant activity, even higher than the complete UAE-yarrow extract, meanwhile yarrow-Sep showed the highest anti-inflammatory activity, even higher than the complete UAE-yarrow extract. Interestingly, yarrow-Sep inhibited key lipid metabolic targets in CRC cells extensively shown to be implicated in cancer dissemination and prognosis -SREBF1, FASN, ABCA1 and HMGCR- and epithelial to mesenchymal targets-CDH1, ATP1B1, CDH2 and Vimentin-augmenting cell adhesion. Conclusions: In summary, SAS technology has been applied to provide a novel combination of bioactive compounds, yarrow-Sep, which merits further research to be proposed as a potential complementary nutraceutical in the treatment of CRC.

Lavandula stoechas L. subsp. stoechas, a New Herbal Source for Ursolic Acid: Quantitative Analysis, Purification and Bioactivity Studies

In this study, methanol, ethanol, methanol-dichloromethane (1 : 1, v/v), acetone, ethyl acetate, diethyl ether, and chloroform extracts of lavender (Lavandula stoechas L. subsp. stoechas) were prepared by maceration, and the ursolic acid contents in the extracts were determined quantitatively by HPLC analyses. The present results show that the methanol-dichloromethane (1 : 1, v/v) solvent system is the most efficient solvent system for the extraction of ursolic acid from the plant sample with the highest yield (2.22 g/100 g plant sample). In the present study, a new practical method for the isolation of ursolic acid from polar extracts was also demonstrated for the first time. The inhibition effects of the extracts and ursolic acid were also revealed on α-glycosidase, acetylcholinesterase, butyrylcholinesterase, and human carbonic anhydrase I and II enzymes by determining IC50 values for the first time. The extracts and ursolic acid acted as potent antidiabetic agents by strongly inhibiting the α-glycosidase activity, whereas they were found to be very weak neuroprotective agents. In view of the present results, L. stoechas and its major metabolite, ursolic acid, can be recommended as a herbal source to control postprandial blood sugar levels and prevent diabetes by delaying the digestion of starch in food.

Lavandula austroapennina: Assessment of the Antiviral Activity of Lipophilic Extracts from Its Organs

In a framework aimed at the recovery and enhancement of medicinal plants endemic to the territory of the Cilento and Vallo di Diano National Park, Lavandula austroapennina N.G. Passal., Tundis and Upson has aroused interest. An insight into the chemical composition of the corolla, calyx, leaf, stem, and root organs was carried out following ultrasound-assisted maceration in n-hexane. The obtained lipophilic extracts were explored using ultra-high-performance chromatography coupled to high-resolution mass spectrometry (UHPLC-ESI-QqTOF-MS/MS). The extracts from the different organs varied in their relative content of fatty acids, ursanes, and oleanane-type triterpenes. In particular, the oleanolic acid content appeared to increase in the order of corolla < leaf < stem. An MTT assay was performed to verify the possible cytotoxicity of the organ extracts of L. austroapennina at a concentration ranging from 12.5 to 400 µg/mL on the Vero CCL-81 cell line. Antiviral activity against herpes simplex virus type 1 (HSV-1), alpha human coronavirus 229E (HCoV-229E), and poliovirus type 1 (PV-1) was evaluated via a plaque reduction assay in the same cellular model. All the extracts did not show cytotoxic effects after 2 and 24 h exposure times, and the antiviral efficacy was particularly important for the stem extract, capable of completely inhibiting the tested viruses at low doses. The antiviral activity in a non-enveloped virus PV-1 allowed the assertion that the extracts from the organs of L. austroapennina, and especially the stem extract, interfered directly with the viral envelope. This study underlines how much knowledge of a territory's medicinal plant heritage is a harbinger of promising discoveries in the health field.

Phytochemical Profiling, Antioxidant and Anti-Inflammatory Activity of Plants Belonging to the Lavandula Genus

Lavender is a valuable medicinal plant belonging to the Lamiaceae family. Currently 39 species are known, but only Lavandula angustifolia is a pharmacopoeial raw material. Lavender has a long history of medicinal use and mainly exhibits antioxidant, anti-inflammatory, sedative, antidepressant, spasmolytic, anticholinesterases, antifungal and antibacterial properties. Used internally, it relieves symptoms of mental stress and insomnia and supports digestion. Topical use of lavender in aromatherapy, neuralgia and antiseptics is also known. The constant interest in lavender, and in particular in Lavandula angustifolia, in the field of medicine and pharmacy is evidenced by the growing number of publications. In view of so many studies, it seems important to review traditional and modern extraction techniques that determine the chemical composition responsible for the antioxidant and anti-inflammatory effects of various extracts from the species of the Lavandula genus.

Concentration of Antioxidant Compounds from Calendula officinalis through Sustainable Supercritical Technologies, and Computational Study of Their Permeability in Skin for Cosmetic Use

The growing interest in the cosmetic industry in using compounds of natural and sustainable origin that are safe for humans is encouraging the development of processes that can satisfy these needs. Chlorogenic acid (CHA), caffeic acid (CAF) and ferulic acid (FA) are three compounds widely used within the cosmetic industry due to their functionalities as antioxidants, collagen modifiers or even as radiation protectors. In this work, two advanced separation techniques with supercritical CO2 are used to obtain these three compounds from Calendula officinalis, and these are then evaluated using a computational skin permeability model. This model is encompassed by the COSMO-RS model, the calculations of which make it possible to study the behaviour of the compounds in the epidermis. The results show that both CAF and FA are retained in the stratum corneum, while CHA manages to penetrate to the stratum spinosum. These compounds were concentrated by antisolvent fractionation with super-critical CO2 using a Response Surface Methodology to study the effect of pressure and CO2 flow rate. CHA, CAF and FA were completely retained in the precipitation vessel, with concentrations between 40% and 70% greater than in the original extract. The conditions predicted that the optimal overall yield and enrichment achieved would be 153 bar and 42 g/min.

Controversy around parabens: Alternative strategies for preservative use in cosmetics and personal care products

Parabens usage as preservatives in cosmetics and personal care products have been debated among scientists and consumers. Parabens are easy to production, effective and cheap, but its safety status remains controversial. Other popular cosmetics preservatives are formaldehyde, triclosan, methylisothiazolinone, methylchloroisothiazolinone, phenoxyethanol, benzyl alcohol and sodium benzoate. Although their high antimicrobial effectiveness, they also exhibit some adverse health effects. Lately, scientists have shown that natural substances such as essential oils and plant extracts present antimicrobial potential. However, their use in cosmetic is a challenge. The present review article is a comprehensive summary of the available methods to prevent microbial contamination of cosmetics and personal care products, which can allow reducing the use of parabens in these products.