The fruits of Lycium ruthenicum Murr. have long been used in folk medicine. Nevertheless, detailed information related to its phenolic composition and its quality control remains scarce. In this study, a simple and reproducible method, based on high-performance liquid chromatography combined with chemometrics, was developed to authenticate 18 samples of L. ruthenicum Murr. collected from different parts of China through fingerprint analysis. The main peaks were identified by quadrupole time-of-flight electrospray ionization mass spectrometry. Four phenolics were quantified, and the most abundant phenolic compound in almost all samples was kukoamine A. Hierarchical cluster analysis and principal component analysis were applied to classify these samples. Also, a total of 26 compounds, which were mainly phenolic compounds and anthocyanins, were identified or tentatively identified based on the available literature and standard references. Among these, 16 were reported for the first time in the extract. The results showed that there was no significant difference between L. ruthenicum fruits from different provinces in terms of chemical composition. Also, the fingerprint together with chemometric analyses and quadrupole time-of-flight electrospray ionization mass spectrometry are promising methods for evaluating the quality consistency, identification, and comprehensive evaluation of L. ruthenicum.
Hyperpigmentation is a common skin condition with serious psychosocial consequences. Decapeptide-12, a novel peptide, has been found to be safer than hydroquinone in reducing content of melanin, with efficacy up to more than 50% upon 16 weeks of twice daily treatment. However, the peptide suffers from limited transcutaneous penetration due to its hydrophilicity and large molecular weight. Therefore, decapeptide-12 was modified by adding a palmitate chain in an attempt to overcome this limitation. We also tested the effects of chemical penetration enhancers and microneedles to deliver two peptides through skin. Enhanced skin permeation was found using an in vitro human skin permeation model. Moreover, we examined peptide retention of different formulations in skin. Our data showed that palm-peptides in microneedle patch was the most effective.
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