Lemongrass (Cymbopogon citratus)-incorporated chitosan bioactive films for potential skincare applications.

Circular economy, and concerns about environmental waste, is fostering the development of sustainable alternative products in a range of industries. In the dermo-cosmetic field, the market for sustainable anti-aging skincare products has increasingly grown over the last years. The innovation of this work was to develop chitosan films incorporating lemongrass essential oil (LEO) that could potentially be applied as a green cosmetic skin treatment due to their anti-oxidant and antimicrobial properties, using renewable and biodegradable materials. Different concentrations of LEO (i.e., 0.5, 1.0, and 1.5 % w/w) were formulated into chitosan filmogenic matrices, forming skincare bioactive films. Their antioxidant properties and water vapor permeability were strongly governed by the LEO concentration. Chitosan bioactive films containing 0.5 % LEO showed cellular viability over 70 %, while those with 1.5 % LEO had similar antioxidant capacity as NAC (N-acetyl-L-cysteine), used as the positive control to inactivate intracellular reactive oxygen species (ROS) in HaCat cells not treated with H2O2. The developed bioactive films showed activity against Escherichia coli and Staphylococcus aureus. Our LEO-loaded chitosan biofilms may be used as sheet masks with antioxidant and antimicrobial properties for skincare, with high flexibility and selected permeability, and without cytotoxic risks.

Consumers' Understanding of Ultra-Processed Foods.

Food classification systems have been proposed to improve food quality criteria. Among these systems, "processing level" has been used as a criterion. NOVA classification, as the denotation "ultra-processed" food (UPF), has been widely used in different countries. However, even though some studies have pointed out some controversial aspects, no study has evaluated its comprehension by the population where it is used as reference. Therefore, this study explored the understanding of the term UPF for Brazilian consumers, where this denotation has been used in the last 8 years. A questionnaire was used, with questions referring to different aspects of self-assessment of knowledge about UPF. Altogether, 939 valid participants completed the questionnaire, and 81.9% of them declared to know the term UPF. For 78.2%, a better definition for UPF should be "foods that have gone through many processes in industry". Finally, it was concluded that the term UPF is still confusing for most Brazilians, indicating the risk of use and the urgent necessity to improve the classifications systems and consequently consumer understanding. Only when all parties interested in healthy food work together could this problem be solved.

Characterization of oral disintegrating film of peanut skin extract-Potential route for buccal delivery of phenolic compounds.

This paper aimed to develop and characterize oral disintegrating films (ODF) based on gelatin and hydroxypropyl methylcellulose (HPMC) incorporated with peanut skin extract (PSE) as phenolic compounds vehicle. Films were prepared by casting technique varying the polymer ratio (GEL:HPMC 100:0, 25:75, 50:50, 75:25, 0:100) and PSE concentration (20 and 30g/100g film-forming solution). Formulations with high content of gelatin presented insoluble complex possibly due to cross-linking between gelatin and polyphenols. For formulations which gelatin was in a minority or equal concentration of HPMC, the increase in the PSE concentration favored the association of rich phases in gelatin and HPMC. This also increased inter- and intramolecular bonding which led to a more compact matrix and reduction of films elongation and tensile strength around 45%. The HPMC film with PSE (20%) presented tensile strength of 26.63±1.89MPa, elongation of 4.97±0.41%, contact angle of 67.17±0.41° and disintegration time of 17.87±1.77s. In the in vitro release profile, 80% of phenolics were released in 5min, and in accelerated stability test the films retained 60% of the total phenolic compounds. HPMC-based film can be a good alternative to vehicle the active compounds present in peanut skin.

Gelatin/hydroxypropyl methylcellulose matrices - Polymer interactions approach for oral disintegrating films.

Oral disintegrating film represents an optimal alternative for delivery system of active compounds. The choice of film-forming polymer is the first step in the development of oral disintegrating films and the knowledge of molecular interactions in this matrix is fundamental to advance in this area. Therefore, this study aimed to characterize gelatin and hydroxypropyl methylcellulose (HPMC) films and their blends as matrices of oral disintegrating films. The films were produced by casting technique and were characterized by scanning electron microscopy, Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy, differential scanning calorimetry, mechanical properties, contact angle, time disintegration and bioadhesive strength. Differential scanning calorimetry showed that enthalpy of fusion and melting temperatures of the blends films were lower than those of the gelatin film, which may be associated with the lack of intra-chain interactions also observed in the Fourier transform infrared spectra. In blends, a less compact cross-section structure was observed in scanning electron microscopy images compared with isolated polymer films. The addition of HPMC increased the elongation, hydrophilicity and in vitro bioadhesive force and decreased in vitro disintegration time, important properties in the development of oral disintegrating films. Although the mixture of the polymers showed no synergistic behavior, this study may contribute to the development of new applications for polymeric matrices in the pharmaceutical industry.