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We investigated the antioxidant activity of phenylpropionic acids--caffeic (CAF), ferulic (FER), para-coumaric (COU) and cinnamic (CIN)--and phenolic acids and related compounds--gallic (GAL), methyl gallate (meGAL), vanillic (VAN) and gentisic (GEN)--using visible spectroscopy, inhibition of nitroblue tetrazolium (NBT) reduction, and electrochemical methods including cyclic voltammetry and potentiometry. In the spectroscopic assays, only CAF, GAL and meGAL were able to inhibit NBT reduction. The same compounds showed the lowest oxidation potentials (Epa) and the highest redox potentials deltaE) in the cyclic voltammetric and potentiometric studies, respectively. In addition, it was observed that the greater the number of hydroxyls linked to the aromatic ring, the greater was the antioxidant activity of the analysed compounds. The correlations of Spermann--used to compare the methods between themselves and the methods with the relationship structure-antioxidant activity--were r = -0.9762 for the cyclic voltammetric-potentiometric methods. r = 0.8333 for the inhibition of NBT reduction-potentiometric methods and r = -0.8095 for the inhibition of NBT reduction-cyclic voltammetric methods. The correlations for cyclic voltammetric, potentiometric and inhibition of NBT reduction methods-number of hydroxyls linked to the aromatic ring were r = -0.9636, 0.9636 and 0.9142, respectively. These findings indicate that the electrochemical methods together with spectroscopic studies are a good tool to evaluate the antioxidant activity of substances.

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Elatol promotes a delay in the cell cycle, probably in the G(1)/S transition, activating the apoptotic process and this could be responsible, at least in part, for the in-vivo effects observed. Taken together, the in-vitro and in-vivo experiments suggested that elatol has anti-tumour properties. Further studies should be conducted to clarify the mechanism of action.

Nanotechnology is an exciting emerging field with multiple applications in skin regeneration. Nanofibers have gained special attention in skin regeneration based on their structural similarity to the extracellular matrix. A wide variety of polymeric nanofibers with distinct properties have been developed and tested as scaffolds for skin regeneration. Besides providing support for tissue repair, nanofibrous materials can act as delivery systems for drugs, proteins, growth factors, and other molecules. Moreover, the morphology, biodegradability, and other functionalities of nanofibrous materials can be controlled towards specific conditions of wound healing. Other nanostructured drug delivery systems, such as nanoparticles, micelles, nanoemulsions, and liposomes, have been used to improve wound healing at different stages. These nanoscale delivery systems have demonstrated several benefits for the wound healing process, including reduced cytotoxicity of drugs, administration of poorly water-soluble drugs, improved skin penetration, controlled release properties, antimicrobial activity, and protection of drugs against light, temperature, enzymes or pH degradation, as well as stimulation of fibroblast proliferation and reduced inflammation.

The world coffee consumption has been growing for its appreciated taste and its beneficial effects on health. The residual biomass of coffee, originated in the food industry after oil extraction from coffee beans, called coffee beans residual press cake, has attracted interest as a source of compounds with antioxidant activity. This study investigated the chemical composition of aqueous extracts of coffee beans residual press cake (AE), their antioxidant activity, and the effect of topical application on the skin wound healing, in animal model, of hydrogels containing the AE, chlorogenic acid (CGA), allantoin (positive control), and carbopol (negative control). The treatments' performance was compared by measuring the reduction of the wound area, with superior result (p < 0.05) for the green coffee AE (78.20%) with respect to roasted coffee AE (53.71%), allantoin (70.83%), and carbopol (23.56%). CGA hydrogels reduced significantly the wound area size on the inflammatory phase, which may be associated with the well known antioxidant and anti-inflammatory actions of that compound. The topic use of the coffee AE studied improved the skin wound healing and points to an interesting biotechnological application of the coffee bean residual press cake.