Abstract
Surface active agents (SAAs) are molecules with the capacity to adsorb to solid surfaces and/or fluid interfaces, a property that allows them to act as multifunctional ingredients (e.g., wetting and dispersion agents, emulsifiers, foaming and anti-foaming agents, lubricants, etc.) in a widerange of the consumer products of various industrial sectors (e.g., pharmaceuticals, cosmetics, personal care, detergents, food, etc.). Given their widespread utilization, there is a continuously growing interest to explore their role in consumer products (relevant to promoting human health) and how such information can be utilized in order to synthesize better chemical derivatives. In this review article, weaimed to provide updated information on synthetic and biological (biosurfactants) SAAs and their health-promoting properties (e.g., anti-microbial, anti-oxidant, anti-viral, anti-inflammatory, anti-cancer and anti-aging) in an attempt to better define some of the underlying mechanism(s) by which they exert such properties.
Highlights
Surfactants are amphiphilic molecules characterized by a hydrophilic head group and a hydrophobic tail
The classic application of surfactants is as surface-active agents (SAAs) which exploits their ability to adsorb to solid surfaces and fluid interfaces by partitioning the hydrophilic part in the aqueous phase and the hydrophobic part in/or at the second phase
The anti-oxidant potential of all the tested compounds followed the order of DQCS > QCS > CS, as evidenced by various anti-oxidant assays [102]. These results suggest that the DQCS synthetic derivatives of chitosan could be used in pharmaceutical and food areas as promising anti-oxidant agents
Summary
Surfactants are amphiphilic molecules characterized by a hydrophilic (ionic or non-ionic) head group and a hydrophobic tail. The classic application of surfactants is as surface-active agents (SAAs) which exploits their ability to adsorb to solid surfaces and fluid interfaces by partitioning the hydrophilic part in the aqueous phase and the hydrophobic part in/or at the second phase This allows SAAs to act as wetting and dispersion agents, emulsifiers, foaming and anti-foaming agents and lubricants in a wide range of consumer and other industrial products such as detergents and soaps, foods, pharmaceuticals, cosmetics and personal care products, herbicides, insecticides and sanitizers [1]. SAAs are used as emulsifiers in many foods, as well as cosmetic and pharmaceutical formulations Having both the surface active as well as the anti-microbial properties of SAAs being exploited, this would remove (or reduce) the need for additional preservatives to be added to the final consumer product(s), with a concomitant decrease in formulation costs. The discussion on biosurfactants will be confined to those that are produced by microorganisms (bacteria, fungi, yeast) and in particular the glycolipids (rhamnolipids, sophorolipids and mannosityl erithritol lipids (MELs))
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