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Tatiana Zanela da Silva Marques,1 Ralph Santos-Oliveira,2 Luciana Betzler de Oliveira de Siqueira,1 Verônica da Silva Cardoso,3 Zaida Maria Faria de Freitas,1 Rita de Cássia da Silva Ascenção Barros,1 Ana Lúcia Vazquez Villa,1 Mariana Sato de Souza de Bustamante Monteiro,1 Elisabete Pereira dos Santos,1 Eduardo Ricci-Junior1 1Department of Drugs and Medicines, Faculty of Pharmacy, 2Institute of Nuclear Energy, 3Unit of Biocatalysis, Bioproducts and Bioenergy (Bioinivar), Institute of Microbiology Paulo de Góes, Federal University of Rio de Janeiro, Rio de Janeiro, RJ, Brazil Background: Propranolol (PPN) is a therapeutic option for the treatment of infantile hemangiomas. This study aimed at the development of nanoemulsion (NE) containing 1% PPN, characterization of the system, and safety studies based on ex vivo permeation, cytotoxicity, and biodistribution in vivo.Methods: The formulation was developed and characterized in relation to the droplet size, polydispersity index (PDI), pH, zeta potential, and electronic microscopy. Ex vivo permeation studies were used to evaluate the cutaneous retention of PPN in the epidermis and dermis. Cytotoxicity studies were performed in fibroblasts, macrophages, and keratinocytes. In vivo biodistribution assay of the formulations was performed by means of labeling with technetium-99m.Results: NE1 exhibited droplet size of 26 nm, PDI

Fruits such as bacaba (Oenocarpus bacaba Mart), pracaxi (Pentaclethra macroloba Kuntze) and uxi (Endopleura uchi (Huber) Cuatrec), from the Amazon rainforest, are potentially interesting for studies of natural products. The current article aims at mapping and characterizing studies on the bacaba, pracaxi and uxi species. This review reports the main bioactive compounds identified in these species and discusses their therapeutic potential. Searches were performed in MEDLINE (Via Pubmed) and Web of Science. Thirty-one studies that described or evaluated the development of formulations aimed at the therapeutic use of the species were included. The findings suggest that species have the potential for the development of pharmaceutical formulations due to their therapeutic properties. However, further studies are required to assess safety and efficacy of these products. Therefore, it is suggested that new research studies propose strategies so that technological development is based on awareness and preservation of the biome.

Objective: The objective of this work was to develop a self-emulsifying drug delivery system (SEDDS) containing caffeine for the treatment of cellulite., Methods: SEDDS were prepared using the solution method. 0.5% (w/v) caffeine was added to the previously selected excipients. The system was characterized by droplet size, zeta potential, emulsification time and long-term stability. In vitro release and skin permeation were investigated using Franz-type diffusion cells. The cytotoxicity was evaluated on normal human keratinocytes., Results: Caffeine SEDDS were thermodynamically stable, with a zeta potential less than - 22 mV and droplet size around 30 nm, and were long-term stable. The permeation study showed that the formulation promoted caffeine accumulation in the skin layers, suggesting an increase in local circulation. Cytotoxicity studies on HaCaT cells were not conclusive as the surfactant used indicated false-positive results due to its high molar mass., Conclusion: It was possible to obtain a stable SEDDS that could cause an increase in blood flow in the applied area, resulting in cellulite reduction., (© 2023 Society of Cosmetic Scientists and Societe Francaise de Cosmetologie.)

Vegetable oils are among the most important traditional resources of Amazonia. Oleoresins are a type of oil that have interesting characteristics and highly bioactive properties with pharmacological potential. Oleoresins produced in the trunks of Copaifera (Fabaceae) spp. trees, known as copaiba oils, are made up of terpenes from the sesquiterpene (volatile) and diterpene (resinous) classes, but in amounts that vary between species and depending on several factors, such as soil type. Despite being used for medicinal purposes, via topical and oral application, the toxic effects of copaiba oils and their constituents are little known. The current paper reviews the toxicological studies, both in vitro and in vivo, described in the literature for copaiba oils, as well as the cytotoxic characteristics (against microorganisms and tumor cells) in in silico, in vitro and in vivo models for the sesquiterpenes and diterpenes that make up these oils.

Human beings are actively exposed to ultraviolet (UV) radiation, which is associated with skin cancer. This has encouraged the continuous search for more effective and safer photoprotective formulations. Along with the application of traditional organic sunscreens, there is a growing interest in "green products" containing natural compounds such as plant extracts and oils. This trend is combined with the use of nanotechnology as a tool for optimizing the vehicles of such compounds. Nanoemulsions (NEs) are suitable for the encapsulation of natural compounds, which improves topical treatment. Therefore, we have developed oil-in-water (O/W) nanoemulsions containing 3% buriti oil (BO), incorporated in a 10% vegetal extract of Aloe vera (AV) by means of ultrasonic processing to improve the chemical characteristics of this component and, consequently, its efficacy and safety in pharmaceutical and cosmetic formulations. The composition of the formulation was initially defined in a preliminary study on surfactants where the concentrations of Tween ® 80 and Span ® 20 were evaluated in relation to particle size and the polydispersity index (PDI). The nanoemulsion was prepared and then chemical sunscreens were incorporated with the aim of developing a sunscreen nanoemulsion called NE-A19. This nanoemulsion was found to be the best formulation due to its stability, droplet size (146.80 ± 2.74), and PDI (0.302 ± 0.088), with a monomodal size distribution. The stability was evaluated over 90 days and showed a low growth in particle size at the end of the study. NE-A19 exhibited good viscosity and organoleptic properties, in addition to an occlusion factor indicating an interesting and higher water holding capacity when compared with a NE without AV ( p < 0.05). The in vitro efficacy and safety studies of NE-19A were promising. Its average in vitro sun protection factor value was 49, with a critical wavelength (λ c ) of 369.7 nm, satisfactory UVA protection, and a UVA/UVB ratio of 0.40, indicating broad spectrum protection against UVA and UVB radiation. Furthermore, NE-19A displayed a good safety profile in dermal keratinocytes. It can be concluded that NE-19A is a promising formulation for carrying natural products, such as buriti oil and AV, associated with synthetic filters in lower concentrations.

Tapioca starch (TS) is produced from Cassaca roots and it is differentiated from other starches because it contains about 17-20% amylase and low amount of residual substances. Propranolol (POP) is a non-selective beta-adrenergic blocking agent and it is in the World Health Organization's List of Essential Medicines. The aim of this work was to investigate the potential of TS in the development of POP tablets by means of direct compression. Its evaluation was performed by X-ray diffraction (XRD), Fourier-transform infrared spectroscopy (FTIR), Nuclear Magnetic Resonance (NMR) relaxometry, scanning electron microscopy (SEM), uniformity of weight, drug content, disintegration, friability, hardness, dissolution test and drug release kinetics. The TS granules were spherical with mean diameter of 10.09 ± 1.85 µm. The XRD, FTIR and NMR suggested physical interaction between TS and POP. The tablets presented average diameter of 1.1 ± 0.0 cm, 0.24 ± 0.02 cm thickness and average weight of 0.544 ± 0.003 g. The hardness of tablets was 10.98 ± 0.31 N and the percentage of friability was 25.74 ± 0.08%. POP was released after 45 min and the release kinetics properly fitted the Hixson-Crowell equation.

Oral therapy with 8-methoxypsoralen (8-MOP) may cause major side effects, whereas the topical treatment might not be much effective due to the low penetration induced by typical formulations. Therefore, the objectives of this work are the development and characterization of a nanoemulsion (NE) containing 8-MOP together with an ex vivo permeation study, monitored by a validated HPLC-Fluo method, to determine the amount of drug retained in viable skin (epidermis (E) and dermis (D)) and in stratum corneum (SC). The optimized conditions for NE formulation were achieved by full factorial designs (2 5 and 3 2 ): 60 s and 60% of ultrasound time and potency, respectively; 10 mL of final volume; 2% v/v of oil phase (clove essential oil); and 10% m/v of Poloxamer 407. The NE showed mean droplet diameter of 24.98 ± 0.49 nm, polydispersity index (PDI) of 0.091 ± 0.23, pH values of 6.54 ± 0.06, refractive index of 1.3525 ± 0.0001 and apparent viscosity of 51.15 ± 3.66 mPa at 20 °C. Droplets with nanospherical diameters were also observed by transmission electron microscopy (TEM). Ex vivo permeation study showed that 8.5% of the applied 8-MOP dose permeated through the biological membranes, with flux (J) of 1.35 μg cm -2  h -1 . The drug retention in E + D and in SC was 10.15 ± 1.36 and 1.95 ± 0.71 µg cm -2 , respectively. Retention in viable skin induced by the NE was almost two-fold higher than a compounded cream (5.04 ± 0.30 μg cm -2 ). These results suggested that the developed NE is a promising alternative for 8-MOP topical therapy when compared to commercial formulations., (Copyright © 2018 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.)