Application of a central composite design to evaluate the influence of colouring agents in lipstick formulation.

OBJECTIVES: The aim of this study was to evaluate by central composite design the influence of colouring agents in lipstick colour, expressed by L*, a*, b* parameters (CIELab system) where L* indicates lightness, and a* and b* are the chromaticity coordinates. The a* indicates colour direction from red to green and b* from yellow to blue. METHODS: Lipsticks were formulated as described by (Recent Adv. Prosp. Potent Med. Plants, 2009 and 39). The combined effect of three variables (dye, pigment and opacifier) was evaluated by different formulations in a central composite design. Colour parameters (L*, a*, b*) were analysed by reflectance spectrophotometry. Lipsticks were characterized by visual analyses and melting point. RESULTS: All formulations were integrate and homogeneous. The pigments and dye do not influence in colour transfer neither in melting point of lipsticks. On the other hand, results indicated that variables studied show influence only in parameter b*, whereas for L* and a* values there was no significant difference (P < 0.05). CONCLUSION: It was possible to verify that only the colour parameter b* was influenced by the variation in colouring agent's concentrations in lipstick formulation, leading to the production of the colour ranging between violet and light red. Such results are useful for developing new lipstick formulations to obtain the desired colour in the final product.

Evaluation of antioxidant activity of Brazilian plants.

In this work, 22 alcoholic extracts, obtained from 14 species of plants belonging to four families, used for different food and medicinal purposes in Brazil, were evaluated for their capacity to inhibit the reduction of the free radical, 1,1-diphenyl-2-picrylhydrazyl (DPPH), and to protect Saccharomyces cerevisiae cells, an eukaryotic cell model, against the lethal oxidative stress caused by tert-butylhydroperoxide (TBH). Five extracts, two from Lamiaceae family (ethanol and butanol extracts from aerial parts of Hyptis fasciculata) and three from Palmae family (Copernicia cerifera leaves and mesocarp of fruits and the endocarp/mesocarp of fruits from Orbignya speciosa) were able to increase the tolerance of S. cerevisiae to TBH and showed to be active as DPPH radical scavengers, thus indicating that these plant extracts could be considered as potential sources of antioxidants. With the exception of ethanol extract of H. fasciculata, the remainder four extracts exhibited a DPPH radical scavenging activity higher than that obtained from Ginkgo biloba, a reference plant with well documented antioxidant activity. Interestingly, the ethanol extract of G. biloba were not effective for yeast cell protection, reinforcing the antioxidant potential of these extracts.

Triterpenos de Hyptis fasciculata Benth

Partes aéreas do arbusto Hyptis fasciculata Benth. foram estudadas do ponto de vista químico. Após vários processos cromatográficos em coluna de gel de sílica, foi possível isolar um triterpeno livre (ácido betulínico), além de triterpenos em mistura (ácido ursólico com ácido betulínico e ácido ursólico com ácido oleanólico), esteróides em mistura (sitosterol e estigmasterol) e misturas de estigmasterol com ácido caféico e sitosterol com lignana. Tais substâncias foram identificadas por ressonância magnética nuclear de 1H e 13C.

The species Hyptis fasciculata Benth. is a shrub that is still unknown by the chemical point of view. This species has been studied in our group using their aerial parts. After many cromatographic processes over silica gel column, it was possible to isolate free triterpene (betulinic acid) and triterpenes in mixture (ursolic acid with betulinic acid and ursolic acid with oleanolic acid), one steroid mixture (sitosterol and stigmasterol) and a mixture of steroid with cafeic acid (stigmasterol and cafeic acid) and with lignan (sitosterol and sesamin). These compounds were identified by nuclear magnetic ressonance 1H and 13C.