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A Low Energy Approach for the Preparation of Nano-Emulsions with a High Citral-Content Essential Oil

Pectis elongata is found in the northern and northeastern regions of Brazil. It is considered a lemongrass due to its citric scent. The remarkable citral content and the wide antimicrobial properties and bioactive features of this terpene make this essential oil (EO) eligible for several industrial...

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Autores principales: Pereira, Suelen F., Barroso, Adenilson, Mourão, Rosa H. V., Fernandes, Caio P.
Formato: Online Artículo Texto
Lenguaje:English
Publicado: MDPI 2021
Materias:
Acceso en línea:https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC8234283/
https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/34208560
http://dx.doi.org/10.3390/molecules26123666
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author Pereira, Suelen F.
Barroso, Adenilson
Mourão, Rosa H. V.
Fernandes, Caio P.
author_facet Pereira, Suelen F.
Barroso, Adenilson
Mourão, Rosa H. V.
Fernandes, Caio P.
author_sort Pereira, Suelen F.
collection PubMed
description Pectis elongata is found in the northern and northeastern regions of Brazil. It is considered a lemongrass due to its citric scent. The remarkable citral content and the wide antimicrobial properties and bioactive features of this terpene make this essential oil (EO) eligible for several industrial purposes, especially in cosmetics and phytotherapics. However, to address the problems regarding citral solubility, nano-emulsification is considered a promising strategy thanks to its improved dispersability. Thus, in this paper we propose a low-energy approach for the development of citral-based nano-emulsions prepared with P. elongata EO. The plant was hydrodistillated to produce the EO, which was characterized with a gas chromatograph coupled to mass spectrometry. The nano-emulsion prepared by a non-heated water titrating (low-energy) method was composed of 5% (w/w) EO, 5% (w/w) non-ionic surfactants and 90% (w/w) deionized water and was analyzed by dynamic light scattering. Levels of citral of around 90% (neral:geranial—4:5) were detected in the EO and no major alteration in the ratio of citral was observed after the nano-emulsification. The nano-emulsion was stable until the 14th day (size around 115 nm and polydispersity index around 0.2) and no major alteration in droplet size was observed within 30 days of storage. Understanding the droplet size distribution as a function of time and correlating it to concepts of compositional ripening, as opposing forces to the conventional Ostwald ripening destabilization mechanism, may open interesting approaches for further industrial application of novel, low-energy, ecofriendly approaches to high citral essential oil-based nano-emulsions based on lemongrass plants.
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spelling pubmed-82342832021-06-27 A Low Energy Approach for the Preparation of Nano-Emulsions with a High Citral-Content Essential Oil Pereira, Suelen F. Barroso, Adenilson Mourão, Rosa H. V. Fernandes, Caio P. Molecules Communication Pectis elongata is found in the northern and northeastern regions of Brazil. It is considered a lemongrass due to its citric scent. The remarkable citral content and the wide antimicrobial properties and bioactive features of this terpene make this essential oil (EO) eligible for several industrial purposes, especially in cosmetics and phytotherapics. However, to address the problems regarding citral solubility, nano-emulsification is considered a promising strategy thanks to its improved dispersability. Thus, in this paper we propose a low-energy approach for the development of citral-based nano-emulsions prepared with P. elongata EO. The plant was hydrodistillated to produce the EO, which was characterized with a gas chromatograph coupled to mass spectrometry. The nano-emulsion prepared by a non-heated water titrating (low-energy) method was composed of 5% (w/w) EO, 5% (w/w) non-ionic surfactants and 90% (w/w) deionized water and was analyzed by dynamic light scattering. Levels of citral of around 90% (neral:geranial—4:5) were detected in the EO and no major alteration in the ratio of citral was observed after the nano-emulsification. The nano-emulsion was stable until the 14th day (size around 115 nm and polydispersity index around 0.2) and no major alteration in droplet size was observed within 30 days of storage. Understanding the droplet size distribution as a function of time and correlating it to concepts of compositional ripening, as opposing forces to the conventional Ostwald ripening destabilization mechanism, may open interesting approaches for further industrial application of novel, low-energy, ecofriendly approaches to high citral essential oil-based nano-emulsions based on lemongrass plants. MDPI 2021-06-16 /pmc/articles/PMC8234283/ /pubmed/34208560 http://dx.doi.org/10.3390/molecules26123666 Text en © 2021 by the authors. https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/Licensee MDPI, Basel, Switzerland. This article is an open access article distributed under the terms and conditions of the Creative Commons Attribution (CC BY) license (https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/).
spellingShingle Communication
Pereira, Suelen F.
Barroso, Adenilson
Mourão, Rosa H. V.
Fernandes, Caio P.
A Low Energy Approach for the Preparation of Nano-Emulsions with a High Citral-Content Essential Oil
title A Low Energy Approach for the Preparation of Nano-Emulsions with a High Citral-Content Essential Oil
title_full A Low Energy Approach for the Preparation of Nano-Emulsions with a High Citral-Content Essential Oil
title_fullStr A Low Energy Approach for the Preparation of Nano-Emulsions with a High Citral-Content Essential Oil
title_full_unstemmed A Low Energy Approach for the Preparation of Nano-Emulsions with a High Citral-Content Essential Oil
title_short A Low Energy Approach for the Preparation of Nano-Emulsions with a High Citral-Content Essential Oil
title_sort low energy approach for the preparation of nano-emulsions with a high citral-content essential oil
topic Communication
url https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC8234283/
https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/34208560
http://dx.doi.org/10.3390/molecules26123666
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