Browsing by Author "Rodrigues, Francisca"
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- CosmeticsPublication . Rodrigues, Francisca; Cádiz-Gurrea, María de la Luz; Nunes, M. Antónia; Pinto, Diana; Ferreira da Vinha, Ana; Borrás Linares, Isabel; Oliveira, M. Beatriz P.P.; Segura Carretero, AntonioThe cosmetic industry is a prosperous global business. According to the Cosmetics Europe—The Personal Care Association, 450 million of Europeans daily use a wide variety of cosmetic products, such as soap, shampoo, hair conditioner, toothpaste, deodorant, shaving cream, skincare, perfume, or make-up. Innovation is one of the basic principles in this field. Over the past 20 years, the innovation in cosmetic industry is enormous, resulting in a wide range of products to protect and moisturize skin as well as to combat inflammation and age signals. Also, consumers are more concerned about their appearance, trying to accept the new society paradigms. On the other hand, the demand for natural cosmetics is stronger than ever, being now widely considered a serious threat to the worldwide economy and society. These new concepts had improved the use of natural extracts as active ingredients in cosmetics, leading to the reuse of old-style active ingredients obtained from natural sources, as well as to new green compounds obtained considering sustainable principles.
- Formulation, characterization, and cytotoxicity evaluation of lactoferrin functionalized lipid nanoparticles for riluzole delivery to the brainPublication . Teixeira, Maria Inês; Lopes, Carla Martins; Gonçalves, Hugo; Catita, José; Silva, Ana Margarida; Rodrigues, Francisca; Amaral, Maria Helena; Costa, Paulo C.Amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS) is a neurodegenerative disease with a very poor prognosis. Its treatment is hindered by a lack of new therapeutic alternatives and the existence of the blood–brain barrier (BBB), which restricts the access of drugs commonly used in ALS, such as riluzole, to the brain. To overcome these limitations and increase brain targeting, riluzole-loaded nanostructured lipid carriers (NLC) were prepared and functionalized with lactoferrin (Lf), facilitating transport across the BBB by interacting with Lf receptors expressed in the brain endothelium. NLC were characterized with respect to their physicochemical properties (size, zeta potential, polydispersity index) as well as their stability, encapsulation efficiency, morphology, in vitro release profile, and biocompatibility. Moreover, crystallinity and melting behavior were assessed by DSC and PXRD. Nanoparticles exhibited initial mean diameters between 180 and 220 nm and a polydispersity index below 0.3, indicating a narrow size distribution. NLC remained stable over at least 3 months. Riluzole encapsulation efficiency was very high, around 94–98%. FTIR and protein quantification studies confirmed the conjugation of Lf on the surface of the nanocarriers, with TEM images showing that the functionalized NLC presented a smooth surface and uniform spherical shape. An MTT assay revealed that the nanocarriers developed in this study did not cause a substantial reduction in the viability of NSC-34 and hCMEC/D3 cells at a riluzole concentration up to 10 μM, being therefore biocompatible. The results suggest that Lf-functionalized NLC are a suitable and promising delivery system to target riluzole to the brain.
- Hardy kiwifruit leaves (Actinidia arguta): an extraordinary source of value-added compounds for food industryPublication . Almeida, Diana; Pinto, Diana; Santos, Joana; Ferreira da Vinha, Ana; Palmeira, Josman; Ferreira, Helena N.; Rodrigues, Francisca; Oliveira, M. Beatriz P.P.The present study reports for the first time the identification and quantification of phenolic compounds, the antioxidant and antimicrobial activities as well as the in vitro radical scavenging activity and intestinal cell effects of A. arguta leaves extracts. Extractions were carried out under water, water:ethanol (50:50) and ethanol. The highest antioxidant activity were obtained in alcoholic extract (IC50 = 53.95 ± 3.09 μg/mL for DPPH; 6628.42 ± 382.49 µmol/mg dry weight basis for FRAP) while the phenolic profile confirmed by HPLC analysis revealed highest amounts of phenolic acids (hydroxycinnamic acid derivatives) and flavonoids (flavan-3-ol and flavonols derivatives). An excellent scavenging activity against reactive oxygen and nitrogen species were determined for all extracts as well as no adverse effects on Caco-2 and HT29-MTX cells in concentrations below 100 μg/mL and 1000 μg/mL, respectively. These results highlight the potentialities of hardy kiwi leaves valorization.
- Natural pigments and colorants in foods and bevaragesPublication . Ferreira da Vinha, Ana; Rodrigues, Francisca; Nunes, M. Antónia; Oliveira, M. Beatriz P.P.It is common knowledge that humans are strongly influenced by color. The color phenomenon can have several origins, since dispersion to light absorption, occurring different phenomena that originate a range of colors found in nature. As a matter of fact, color is the first notable characteristic of a food or a beverage and often predetermines our expectation of flavor and taste. In general, consumers recognize colors with natural sources, as yellow of “lemon,” pink of “grapefruit,” red of “strawberries,” and blue of “blueberries.” In the case of beverages, the behavior is quite identical. Since oranges are orange, it is expected that orange-colored drinks present orange flavor. Similarly, red drinks should taste like cherries, and purple drinks should taste like grapes. Indeed, it has been recognized that color constitutes one of the most visual predicates concerning sensory properties, as taste and flavor of food and beverage. Coloring food and beverage is not a new subject matter.
- Nutrigenomics and polyphenolsPublication . Nunes, M. Antónia; Rodrigues, Francisca; Ferreira da Vinha, Ana; Alves, Rita C.; Oliveira, M. Beatriz P.P.The human body is continuously exposed throughout life to a complex mixture of foods, composed by thousands of chemicals, many of them unknown. Each nutrient can have different biochemical targets and physiological functions. Moreover, the assessment of individual nutrients effect on health is complex since nutrients are consumed on a dietary mixture and not individually. Thus, food intake is one of the environmental factors that most influences the human biological system.
- Permeability assay and inflammatory marker quantification of lactoferrin functionalized lipid nanoparticles intended for brain deliveryPublication . Teixeira, Maria Inês; Lopes, Carla Martins; Reguengo, Henrique; Oliveira, José Carlos; Silva, Ana Margarida; Rodrigues, Francisca; Amaral, Maria Helena; Costa, Paulo C.Amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS) is a neurodegenerative disease with a survival rate of 3 to 5 years from the onset of symptoms. ALS treatment is compromised by the existence of the blood-brain barrier (BBB), which restricts the access of promising biopharmaceutics to the brain, including riluzole, a drug commonly used to treat ALS. To circumvent the BBB and improve the drug brain targeting, nanosystems such as lipid nanoparticles can be employed. In this work, the permeation of nanostructured lipid carriers (NLC) loaded with riluzole and functionalized with a specific ligand – lactoferrin – was assessed in an in vitro BBB model (hCMEC/D3 cell line). Moreover, the effect of the NLC on the production and secretion of the pro-inflammatory cytokine human interleukin 1 alpha (IL-1a) by the cells was also quantified. The permeability studies across the hCMEC/D3 cell monolayers showed that free riluzole penetrated the BBB more than the riluzole-loaded NLC, which was also consistent with the results from the ELISA kit, with the free drug eliciting a higher IL-1a production. Despite these findings, the developed nanocarriers possessed good biocompatibility and stability, and could, therefore, be considered suitable for brain applications.
- Preliminary study of Actinidia arguta leaves as source of bioactive compoundsPublication . Almeida, Diana; Pinto, Diana; Rodrigues, Francisca; Ferreira da Vinha, Ana; Oliveira, M. Beatriz P.P.Actinidia arguta, commonly known as baby kiwi, is an abundant seasonal fruit in Asia, being recently introduced in Europe. The fruit is now available in Portugal, leading to a high consumer attention. During the baby kiwi harvest, a large amount of leaves falls and stay in the soil. To the best of our knowledge, few studies concerning their composition are reported. The aim of this study is to determine and compare the total phenolic and flavonoid contents (TPC and TFC, respectively) as well as the antioxidant activity (through DPPH and FRAP assays) of leaf extracts from different baby kiwi cultivars. The extracts were obtained taking into consideration sustainable conditions (namely solvents and temperatures).
- Riluzole-loaded lipid nanoparticles for brain delivery: preparation, optimization and characterizationPublication . Teixeira, Maria Inês; Lopes, Carla Martins; Gonçalves, Hugo; Catita, José; Silva, Ana Margarida; Rodrigues, Francisca; Amaral, Maria Helena; Costa, Paulo C.Amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS) is a fatal neurodegenerative disease, with a median survival of only 2 to 4 years. Riluzole, a drug commonly used in the management of ALS, has a low aqueous solubility and limited bioavailability. ALS treatment is also hindered by the presence of the blood–brain barrier (BBB) that preserves the delicate homeostasis of the cerebral milieu, isolating it and making brain drug delivery exceptionally hard. To overcome these issues, the use of lipid nanocarriers, such as solid lipid nanoparticles (SLN) and nanostructured lipid carriers (NLC), is a promising strategy. In this study, SLN and NLC were prepared and optimized to facilitate riluzole uptake into the brain for ALS therapy. The lipid nanoparticles were characterized through different techniques, with respect to their physicochemical properties (size, zeta potential (ZP), polydispersity index (PDI)), as well as encapsulation efficiency, morphology, stability, in vitro release, crystallinity, and biocompatibility. Riluzole-loaded nanocarriers exhibited characteristics suitable for brain delivery, including mean diameters between 147.2 and 203.1 nm, low PDI (<0.3), and negative ZP between − 22.5 and − 27.5 mV. Additionally, they were physically stable over 3 months under storage conditions (5 ℃ and 25 ℃), promoting a slow and sustained release of the drug, which was shown to be inside the core of the lipid matrix. Cytotoxicity assays demonstrated that both SLN and NLC did not significantly affect the viability of an hCMEC/D3 cell monolayer at a riluzole concentration up to 10 μM. The results suggest that the developed nanocarriers could be a viable platform to target riluzole to the central nervous system (CNS). Nevertheless, further in vitro and in vivo studies are needed to validate their therapeutic efficacy and safety.
- State of the art in coffee processing by-productsPublication . Alves, Rita C.; Rodrigues, Francisca; Nunes, M. Antónia; Ferreira da Vinha, Ana; Oliveira, M. Beatriz P.P.This chapter describes the steps involved in coffee processing from the field to the cup and the respective generation of by-products along the chain. The chemical composition of coffee husks, pulp, immature, and defective beans, coffee silverskin, and spent coffee grounds is detailed and methods for the sustainable management of these by-products are addressed, as well as legislative frameworks and policy recommendations. Although coffee by-products have a high potential of application in different fields, more integrated strategies with the involvement of coffee producers, industries, academic institutions, governmental and nongovernmental organizations are still needed to convert coffee by-products into really profitable substrates.