In recent years, polyphenols have been extensively studied due to their antioxidant, anticancer, and anti-inflammatory properties. It has been shown that anthocyanins, flavonols, and flavan-3-ols play an important role in the prevention of bacterial infections, as well as vascular or skin diseases. Particularly, resveratrol, as a multi-potent agent, may prevent or mitigate the effects of oxidative stress. As the largest organ of the human body, skin is an extremely desirable target for the possible delivery of active substances. The transdermal route of administration of active compounds shows many advantages, including avoidance of gastrointestinal irritation and the first-pass effect. Moreover, it is non-invasive and can be self-administered. However, this delivery is limited, mainly due to the need to overpassing the stratum corneum, the possible decomposition of the substances in contact with the skin surface or in the deeper layers thereof. In addition, using resveratrol for topical and transdermal delivery faces the problems of its low solubility and poor stability. To overcome this, novel systems of delivery are being developed for the effective transport of resveratrol across the skin. Carriers in the micro and nano size were demonstrated to be more efficient for safe and faster topical and transdermal delivery of active substances. The present review aimed to discuss the role of resveratrol in the treatment of skin abnormalities with a special emphasis on technologies enhancing transdermal delivery of resveratrol.

Since the teratogenicity of Thalidomide has been proven, herbal products are more commonly used in pregnancy to not only relieve morning sickness but also to fight infections. These products are frequently considered as natural and therefore harmless. However, herbs contain a number of active substances that, when used during pregnancy, can affect the development of the fetus. Often, pregnant women do not consult the usage of herbal medicines with a physician. The access to these products is easy and treatment of certain ailments with the use of herbs is common in many countries. The aim of the present literature review was to discuss available data regarding the efficacy and safety of cranberry, chamomile, Echinacea purpurea, garlic, ginger, Ginkgo biloba, and peppermint, which are used to counteract the most common ailments during pregnancy, i.e., infections and pregnancy-related ailments (e.g., nausea and vomiting, dizziness, and headache). Analysis of available data showed that ginger is one of the most extensively analyzed herbal remedies. The dose of ginger below 1000 mg per day may help to relief hypereremesis gravidarum, and such an amount of ginger did not increase frequency of adverse effects for either woman or developing fetus. Data regarding other herbs are most often heterogeneous and give conflicting results with no clear conclusions. However, all herbal products should be used with a special caution in pregnancy. Further high-quality human studies should be determined to confirm the safe doses of herbal products which could be used by pregnant or breast-feeding women.

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The kinetics of calcium release from tablets obtained from modified eggshells in the form of calcium citrate and calcium carbonate was investigated. Calcium release showed the first-order kinetics. After 30 min of the experiment, 79.93% of calcium was released from tablets obtained from modified eggshells in the form of calcium citrate, reaching ~100% after 3 hours. For tablets produced with calcium carbonate, these values were 7 and 60%, respectively. The half-time of calcium release from tablets containing calcium citrate was t_50%= 0.5 h and for tablets containing calcium carbonate it was t_50%= 2.2 h, so calcium in the form of calcium citrate was released 4 times faster. These results can be connected with different solubility of calcium salts. The hardness of tablets with calcium carbonate was by 30 N lower than the hardness of tablets with calcium citrate. It is associated with particular physicochemical properties of calcium salt. Calcium citrate can exist in several states of hydration while calcium carbonate is anhydrous. These properties have an influence on the hardness of tablets.

Effects of two independent variables -the content of quercetin (0 or 1 or 1.5 or 5 %) and the content of plasma (0 or 2 or 4 or 6 %) -on the organoleptic properties and rheological parameters of model formulations prepared on an amphiphilic base were estimated. The consistency of all ointments was uniform, and the content of quercetin and plasma lay within the predefined range. Tested ointments are non-Newtonian systems. The content of quercetin and plasma was found to have a significant effect on the rheological properties of the ointments. An increase in the content of plasma in ointments was accompanied by a significant increase in their hardness, viscosity and shear stress and a reduction of their spreadability. The best rheological properties were shown by formulation F-3, containing 1.5 % of quercetin and 2 % of plasma.

Topical drug delivery in skin diseases provides a non-invasive, direct application of treatments to the affected area and avoids systemic toxicity. Quercetin is a natural polyphenol with documented activity to alleviate the symptoms of many skin diseases. The objective of this study was to prepare and assess the physicochemical properties of hydrogels made of sodium alginate (SA) and cellulose derivatives (methyl cellulose (MC) and carboxymethyl cellulose (CMC)), containing different concentrations of quercetin (0.4 and 0.7%). The physicochemical evaluation of the obtained hydrogels included organoleptic evaluation, texture analysis, spreadability, rheological properties, pH, and stability. Among the prepared formulations, MC-based gels had the highest viscosity, adhesiveness, cohesiveness, and stickiness. The results of this study indicate that MC-based hydrogels were superior to CMC- or SA-based gels in their ability to effectively deliver quercetin to the porcine skin ex vivo. The amount of quercetin retained in the skin after application of MC-based preparations containing higher concentrations of quercetin was 2.04-fold higher for CMC-based hydrogels and 2.6-fold higher for SA-based hydrogels.

The basic parameters of the Nourivan™/Antiox  base were analysed. The base was mixed in a 1:1 ratio with water, 96% ethanol, castor oil, glycerol and in a ratio of 1:0.5 with castor oil and Peru balsam. The prepared formulations were subject ed to rheological tests immediately after preparation and after 4 months since their preparation. Rheological tests were carried out using a Brookfield digital rheometer. It was found that the support retains its homogeneous form when mixed with water, castor oil (1:0.5), ethanol, Peru balsam, glycerol, both on the day of preparation and after the stability test. In rheological tests of the substrate, the lowest rheological stability was demonstrated for the combination with the Peru balsam. The value of the yield stress of the base with the content of Peru balsam was three times lower after 4 months of storage than marked ex tempore. The studies carried out will make it possible to assess the risk of using Nourivan™/Antiox ® base for formulation with active substances suspended or dissolved in the described solvents. RezumatAu fost analizați parametri bazei Nourivan™/Antiox ® . Baza a fost amestecată într-un raport 1:1 cu apă, 96% etanol, ulei de ricin și glicerol și într-un raport de 1:0,5 cu ulei de ricin și balsam de Peru. Formulările preparate au fost supuse testelor reologice imediat după preparare și după 4 luni, utilizând un reometru digital Brookfield. S-a constatat că baza își păstrează forma omogenă atunci când este amestecată cu apă, ulei de ricin (1:0,5), etanol, balsam de Peru, glicerol, atât în ziua preparării, cât și după determinarea testului de stabilitate. În testele reologice ale substratului, cea mai mică stabilitate a fost demonstrată pentru asocierea cu balsamul de Peru. Valoarea tensiunii bazei cu conținut de balsam de Peru a fost de trei ori mai mică după 4 luni de păstrare decât în momentul obținerii ex tempore. Studiile efectuate vor face posibilă evaluarea riscului de utilizare a bazei Nourivan™/Antiox ® pentru formulările cu substanțe active suspendate sau dizolvate în solvenții descriși.

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