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For decades, royal jelly achieved notoriety and became an ultra-rich ingredient with numerous pharmacological properties especially for its use in production of topical ointments and creams. A novel formulation enriched with 2% royal jelly has been developed and characterized. Rheological results highlight a gel-like behavior of the product in the packaging, as it does not flow from the costumer's hand after application and behaves like a liquid, spreading evenly onto clean skin. A clear comparison in size distribution of pure and cream samples was noticed by dynamic light scattering analysis and completed further by Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy (FTIR-ATR) which showed off shift changes in the gel sample as compared to pure compounds. MTT assays were conducted in quintuplicate on murine fibroblasts cell line (NCTC L-929) for testing the biocompatibility of the product in the range of 50-1000 mu g/mL over 24, 48 and 72 h. The designed formulation is typically intended to deliver active compounds to the skin surface and potentially into deeper layers. A molecular docking study was performed for binding mode prediction of P-gp protein residues with two ligands, quercetin and myricetin, in order to investigate their role in the internal modulation of drug transport across cell membranes within the skin.

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Mesoporous titania nanoparticles (NPs) can be used for encapsulation polyphenols, with applications in the food industry, cosmetics, or biomedicine. TiO2 NPs were synthesized using the sol-gel method combined with solvothermal treatment. TiO2 NPs were characterized through X-ray diffraction, FTIR spectroscopy, the N2 adsorption method, scanning and transmission electron microscopy, and thermal analysis. The sample prepared using Pluronic F127 presented a higher surface area and less agglomerated NPs than the samples synthesized with Pluronic P123. Grape marc (GM), a by-product from wine production, can be exploited for preparing extracts with good antioxidant properties. In this regard, we prepared hydroethanolic and ethanolic GM extracts from two cultivars, Feteasca Neagra (FN) and Pinot Noir. The extract components were determined by spectrometric analyses and HPLC. The extract with the highest radical scavenging activity, the hydroethanolic FN extract, was encapsulated in titania (FN@TiO2) and compared with SBA-15 silica support. Both resulting materials showed biocompatibility on the NCTC fibroblast cell line in a 50-300 mu g/mL concentration range after 48 h of incubation and even better radical scavenging potential than the free extract. Although titania has a lower capacity to host polyphenols than SBA-15, the FN@TiO2 sample shows better cytocompatibility (up to 700 mu mg/mL), and therefore, it could be used for skin-care products.

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In the present study, novel biomaterials based on mixtures of collagen and peptides isolated from aquaculture fish residues and marine chitosan solution at pH 5 were prepared, conditioned as 3D porous sponges and characterized to select best variant for biomedical applications. The physico-chemical properties of the biomaterials were investigated by determination of their in vitro biodegradability, swelling degree and porosity, while morphology was observed by scanning electron microscopy (SEM). In addition, the biocompatibility of the prepared biomaterials was assessed by cell viability of L929 fibroblast cultures cultivated in the presence of the prepared sponges by MTT assay. The results indicated that the biomaterials prepared from mixtures of collagen and chitosan at pH 5 and mixtures of collagen, chitosan at pH 5 and peptides had lower in vitro biodegradability in the presence of collagenase, higher degree of swelling and increased porosity, compared to a sponge of fish collagen (control). The cell viability values recorded in L929 fibroblast culture cultivated in the presence of the prepared biomaterials were high, indicating a good biocompatibility with skin specific cells. In conclusion, this study demonstrated that the biomaterials prepared from fish collagen and marine chitosan at pH 5 with or without addition of fish peptides have optimal physico-chemical and structural properties and good biocompatibility, recommending their further testing and use in skin tissue engineering.

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New haloaminopyrazole derivatives differing in the number of pyrazole nuclei 4a-f and 5a-e, respectively, were synthesized and characterized by 1H-NMR, 13C-NMR, IR, UV-Vis, and elemental analysis. The single-crystal X-ray diffraction method was used to describe compounds 4a and 5d. When tested on normal NCTC fibroblasts in vitro, the newly synthesized derivatives were shown to be non-cytotoxic at a dosage of 25 mu g/mL. Two compounds 4a and 5d showed a high degree of biocompatibility. From the two series of compounds tested on HEp-2 human cervical carcinoma cells, compound 5d showed a more pronounced antiproliferative effect. Gram-positive strains of Staphylococcus aureus ATCC25923, Enterococcus faecalis ATCC29212, Gram-negative strains of Pseudomonas aeruginosa ATCC27853, and strains of Escherichia coli ATCC25922 were used to test the newly synthesized compounds antibacterial and antibiofilm properties. Among the studied pyrazole compounds, 2 compounds 4a and 5a with fluorine content on the phenyl ring and 4 compounds 4b, 4e, 4f, and 5b with chlorine content on the phenyl ring were noted, which proved to be the most active compared with the two reference drugs, metronidazole and nitrofurantoin. The six compounds showed a broad spectrum of action against all four tested bacterial strains, the most active being compound 4b, with a chlorine atom in the 4 position of the phenyl nucleus and a MIC of 460 mu g/mL. Compounds 4a and 5a showed the best antibiofilm activity against the bacterial strain Staphylococcus aureus ATCC25923, with an MBIC of 230 mu g/mL.

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Hedera helix L. contains phytochemicals with good biological properties which are beneficial to human health and can be used to protect plants against different diseases. The aim of this research was to find the most suitable extraction method and the most favorable parameters for the extraction of different bioactive compounds from ivy leaves. Different extraction methods, namely microwave-assisted extraction (MAE), ultrasound-assisted extraction (UAE), and conventional heating extraction (CHE), were used. The most suitable method for the extraction of saponins is MAE with an extraction efficiency of 58%, while for carbohydrates and polyphenols, the best results were achieved via UAE with an extraction efficiency of 61.7% and 63.5%, respectively. The antioxidant activity (AA) of the extracts was also determined. The highest AA was obtained via UAE (368.98 +/- 9.01 mu mol TR/gDM). Better results were achieved at 50( degrees)C for 10 min of extraction, using 80% ethanol in water as solvent. In order to evaluate their in vitro cytotoxicity, the extracts richest in bioactive compounds were tested on NCTC fibroblasts. Their influence on the DNA content of RAW 264.7 murine macrophages was also tested. Until 200 mu g/mL, the extracts obtained via UAE and MAE were cytocompatible with NCTC fibroblasts at 48 h of treatment. Summarizing the above, both MAE and UAE can be employed as green and efficient methods for producing extracts rich in bioactive compounds, exhibiting strong antioxidant properties and good noncytotoxic activity.

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In this paper, the extract from the leaves of Hedera helix L.was subjected to isolation and fractionation of saponins, in order to determine their in vitro antiproliferative activity. The ethanolic extract was obtained by maceration from H.helix L.leaves, grown in Romania, and the saponins were isolated and fractionated using column chromatography. The total saponin content in the extract and the isolated saponins was determined. Three saponins of interest, hederacoside C, a-hederin and hederagenin were identified by LC/MS analysis. Four selected fractions rich in these saponins tested in vitro, showed antiproliferative effects at a concentration of 200 mg/mL in a culture of human cervix carcinoma Hep-2 cells. The tested fractions were non-cytotoxic in the range of concentration 2-400 mg/mL on normal fibroblasts cells from NCTC cell line. Our results demonstrated the selected saponin fractions isolated from H.helix L.leaves may be considered as possible antitumor agents.

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