Nowadays, the use of marine by-products as precursor materials has gained great interest in the extraction and production of chemical compounds with suitable properties and possible pharmaceutical applications. The present paper presents the development of a new immediate release tablet containing calcium lactate obtained from Black Sea mussel shells. Compared with other calcium salts, calcium lactate has good solubility and bioavailability. In the pharmaceutical preparations, calcium lactate was extensively utilized as a calcium source for preventing and treating calcium deficiencies. The physical and chemical characteristics of synthesized calcium lactate were evaluated using Fourier Transform Infrared Spectroscopy, X-ray diffraction analysis and thermal analysis. Further, the various pharmacotechnical properties of the calcium lactate obtained from mussel shells were determined in comparison with an industrial used direct compressible Calcium lactate DC (PURACAL®). The obtained results suggest that mussel shell by-products are suitable for the development of chemical compounds with potential applications in the pharmaceutical domain.

Chronic venous disease is one of the most common vascular diseases; the signs and symptoms are varied and are often neglected in the early stages. Vascular damage is based on proinflammatory, prothrombotic, prooxidant activity and increased expression of several matrix metalloproteinases (MMPs). The aim of this research is preparation and preliminary characterization of three vegetal extracts (Sophorae flos-SE, Ginkgo bilobae folium-GE and Calendulae flos-CE). The obtained dry extracts were subjected to phytochemical screening (FT-ICR-MS, UHPLC-HRMS/MS) and quantitative analysis (UHPLC-HRMS/MS, spectrophotometric methods). Antioxidant activity was evaluated using three methods: FRAP, DPPH and ABTS. More than 30 compounds were found in each extract. The amount of flavones follows the succession: SE > GE > CE; the amount of phenolcarboxylic acids follows: SE > CE > GE; and the amount of polyphenols follows: SE > GE > CE. Results for FRAP method varied as follows: SE > CE > GE; results for the DPPH method followed: SE > GE > CE; and results for ABTS followed: SE > GE > CE. Strong and very strong correlations (appreciated by Pearson coefficient) have been observed between antioxidant activity and the chemical content of extracts. Molecular docking studies revealed the potential of several identified phytochemicals to inhibit the activity of four MMP isoforms. In conclusion, these three extracts have potential in the treatment of chronic venous disease, based on their phytochemical composition.

The aim of our study was to obtain rutoside (RUT) inclusion complexes in β-cyclodextrin (β-CD) and in hydroxypropyl-β-cyclodextrin (HP-β-CD), in a 1:1 molar ratio, using the lyophilization method of complexation in solution. The complexes were confirmed and characterized, in comparison with the raw materials and their simple physical mixtures, by SEM, DSC, and FT-IR analyses. The antioxidant activity of the compounds was assessed by using the 2,2-diphenyl-1-picryl-hydrazyl (DPPH) and 2’-azino-bis(3-ethylbenzothiazolin-6-sulfonic) acid (ABTS) radicals, determining the radical scavenging activity, and by ferric reducing antioxidant power (FRAP) assay. The results revealed superior antioxidant ability for the inclusion complexes towards rutoside alone. The inclusion complexes were used as active ingredients in formulations of immediate-release tablets. The preformulation studies were performed on the powders for direct compression obtained after mixing the active ingredients with the excipients (Avicel PH 102, Polyplasdone XL-10, magnesium stearate, and talc). The materials were assessed for particle size, flowability, compressibility, and moisture content, establishing they are suitable for a direct compression process. The tablets were characterized regarding their pharmaco-technical properties and the results proved that the formulations lead to high-quality delivery systems, showing a good mechanical resistance with a low friability, excellent disintegration times, and satisfying dissolution rate. The performances were very similar for both formulations and the physico-mechanical properties of the tablets are not influenced by type of the used cyclodextrin, but the RUT- HP-β-CD tablets presented a higher dissolution rate.

Naringenin enhances the UV protection, photostability and cell viability of lipid based vegetable nanocarriers.