Browsing by Author "Tebai, Abir"
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- Development of a cosmeceutical with natural bioactive compoundsPublication . Tebai, Abir; Heleno, Sandrina A.; Falcão, Soraia; Rejeb, Ines BenPreservatives are normally included in cosmetic formulations as they are important to fight microorganisms such as bacteria, fungi, and yeasts. Finding the right type of preservative or preservative system to add to each formulation that meets all standards for conservation and toxicological safety is a challenge when it comes to cosmetic microbiology. Thus, the main objective of this work was to develop cosmetic formulations by incorporating bioactive plant extracts and propolis extract, sources of natural antioxidants and antimicrobials. In a first phase, two extraction methods were applied according to the matrices requirements, namely maceration for the plants (e.g., rosemary, eucalyptus) and heated water bath for the propolis. Afterwards, different combinations of extracts in an attempt to search for possible synergistic effects were chemically characterized by HPLC-DAD-MS and subjected to bioactivity evaluation. The antioxidant activity was also evaluated by TBARs and CAA methods. Furthermore, the antimicrobial activity against pathogens was evaluated by the microdilution method, and the toxicity in normal cells was tested by the sulforhodamine B assay. Additionally, the anti-inflammatory and anti-tyrosinase activities of these extracts were also evaluated. Two of the combinations gave the greatest results, namely eucalyptus/propolis (50:50 m/m) and eucalyptus/rosemary (60:40 m/m), had the highest antioxidant and antimicrobial properties. These two combinations were incorporated into two different formulas (soap and cosmetic serum). The physical parameters of the developed formulas were analyzed, such as texture (tetrameter), color (colorimeter), and pH; as also the bioactivities, in order to assess their stability after incorporation into the final formulation. The outcomes demonstrated that the new soaps have remarkable antibacterial and antioxidant activities. Throughout the period of storage, they managed to keep up their physical characteristics and bioactivities. The bioactivities of the artificially preserved serum formulas were higher than the other formulations. Nevertheless, the formulas only with natural extracts exhibited very strong capacities, being able to inhibit oxidation processes effectively.