Abstract
Propolis is a resinous substance produced by bees that exhibits antimicrobial, immunostimulatory and antioxidant activity. Its use is common in functional foods, cosmetics and traditional medicine despite the fact that it demonstrates low extraction yields and inconsistency in non-toxic solvents. In this work, a new encapsulation and delivery system consisting of liposomes and cyclodextrins incorporating propolis polyphenols has been developed and characterized. The antioxidant, antimutagenic and antiaging properties of the system under normal and UVB-induced oxidative stress conditions were investigated in cultured skin cells and/or reconstituted skin model. Furthermore, the transcript accumulation for an array of genes involved in many skin-related processes was studied. The system exhibits significant polyphenol encapsulation efficiency, physicochemical stability as well as controlled release rate in appropriate conditions. The delivery system can retain the anti-mutagenic, anti-oxidative and anti-ageing effects of propolis polyphenols to levels similar and comparable to those of propolis methanolic extracts, making the system ideal for applications where non-toxic solvents are required and controlled release of the polyphenol content is desired.
Highlights
Nowadays, there is a huge interest on natural products that can promote the state of health and well-being for humans
The aim of the present study is to evaluate the in vitro effects of a controlled release delivery system of propolis polyphenols (CRPP) containing active propolis fractions previously characterized for their beneficial properties and to investigate the potential applications of such a system in skin applications
In the present study we developed a system consisting of liposomes and cyclodextrins incorporating propolis polyphenols, mainly for skin applications
Summary
There is a huge interest on natural products that can promote the state of health and well-being for humans. Propolis is a resinous substance which is produced by bees and presents many challenges in respect to its extraction and formulation process. It exhibits antimicrobial, immunostimulatory and antioxidant activity and is employed in the preparation of functional foods and cosmetics as well as in traditional medicine [2,5,6,7]. Its composition varies depending on the flora of the foraging region of the bees and the collection season. It contains approximately 50% resins, 30% waxes, 10% aromatic components, 5% pollen and
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