This thesis reports a research work concerning the study and valorisation of natural raw materials and plant extracts, as well as the quantification of biological activities that can be exploited in the nutritional, cosmetic and pharmaceutical field. The research project focuses at first on the plant Moringa oleifera, which belongs to the Moringaceae family. This plant is well-known for its nutritional properties, arousing in recent years great interest also in the cosmetic and pharmaceutical industry. In order to extend the potential uses of the plant, it was decided to analyse the activities connected with the solar protection field, considering also the interesting phytochemical profile and some preliminary studies already present in the literature. The plant Moringa oleifera is able to grow in a wide range of conditions and soils. It has been possible to observe several biological activities, such as: the Sun Protection Factor (SPF) in vitro, the antioxidant profile, the polyphenol content, the chemical characterization of the flavonoidic fraction, the antimicrobial and antifungal activity, the anti-tumor activity. During the evaluation process different extraction methods have been developed, in order to obtain a complete and exhaustive evaluation of the vegetal raw material’s performance. Subsequently, a comparative study of different collection times was carried out in order to determine the incidence on the analysed biological activities and the best cultivation conditions. The tests were performed on extracts from different parts of the plant grown and collected in two different countries; - First part of the study: Moringa oleifera leaves and seeds collected and dried in Senegal - Second part of the study: Moringa oleifera leaves collected at four different times of the year and dried in Paraguay. This research work on Moringa oleifera resulted in the drafting of a book chapter which provides guidelines for the determination of the Sun Protection Factor and UV filtering activity of plant extracts, taking into consideration the difficulties encountered during the project as well as the experience of the research group in this area. The whole project was preceded by an intense bibliographic research which led to the writing of a review article that describes the state of the art of the research on solar filters of natural origin and on biological activities that can be exploited in the field of photoprotection. The research work described in the thesis shows that various types of extracts obtained from the leaves of the plant have interesting UV filtering properties compatible with use in solar products. In addition, some of the samples have interesting antioxidant, antimicrobial and antifungal activity. Moreover, one of the studied extracts showed an interesting antiproliferative effect against Colo 38 human melanoma cells, which completes a significant series of key biological activities in the prevention of skin photo-aging and of various types of skin diseases.

Il lavoro presentato in questa tesi si colloca nell’ambito della valorizzazione di materie prime naturali ed estratti vegetali mediante determinazione di attività biologiche e proprietà sfruttabili nel mondo nutrizionale, cosmetico e farmaceutico. Il punto di partenza dell’intero percorso è costituito dalla pianta Moringa oleifera ben nota per le sue proprietà nutrizionali. Questa pianta appartenente alla famiglia delle Moringaceae ha suscitato negli ultimi anni grande interesse anche da parte del mondo cosmetico e farmaceutico. Al fine di estendere le possibili applicazioni di questa specie vegetale nel contesto di un uso sostenibile delle risorse naturali, si è deciso di studiare le attività connesse con la protezione solare considerando la fonte rinnovabile del prodotto, la sua crescita anche su terreni poco adatti alla agricoltura tradizionale, il promettente profilo fitochimico e alcuni studi preliminari già presenti in letteratura. È stato valutato il Sun Protection Factor (SPF) in vitro, il profilo antiossidante, il contenuto in polifenoli, la caratterizzazione chimica della frazione flavonoidica, l’attività antimicrobica e antifungina, l’attività antitumorale. Il tutto è stato svolto utilizzando e sviluppando diverse metodiche estrattive al fine di ottenere un quadro completo e esaustivo delle performance della materia prima vegetale. Successivamente è stato svolto uno studio comparativo di diversi tempi di raccolta al fine di determinare l’incidenza delle tempistiche di raccolta sulle attività biologiche studiate e le migliori condizioni di coltivazione. Le analisi sono state eseguite su estratti ricavati dalle foglie essiccate di Moringa oleifera provenienti da due diversi paesi: - Prima parte dello studio: Foglie di Moringa oleifera raccolte ed essiccate in Senegal - Seconda parte dello studio: Foglie di Moringa oleifera raccolte ed essiccate in Paraguay relative a quattro diversi tempi di raccolta Questo percorso di ricerca è sfociato successivamente nella stesura di un capitolo di libro in cui vengono delineate linee guida per la determinazione dell’attività filtrante UV in vitro di estratti vegetali alla luce delle difficoltà riscontrate durante il percorso e, più in generale, alla luce dell’esperienza del gruppo di ricerca in questo ambito. Il lavoro di ricerca è stato preceduto da un’intensa ricerca bibliografica che ha portato alla stesura di un articolo review che riporta lo stato dell’arte della ricerca su filtri solari di origine naturale e sulle attività biologiche spendibili in ambito della fotoprotezione.

MORINGA OLEIFERA COME INGREDIENTE ATTIVO NELLA PROTEZIONE SOLARE: ATTIVITÀ BIOLOGICHE E FITOCHIMICA

BUSO, Piergiacomo
2020

Abstract

This thesis reports a research work concerning the study and valorisation of natural raw materials and plant extracts, as well as the quantification of biological activities that can be exploited in the nutritional, cosmetic and pharmaceutical field. The research project focuses at first on the plant Moringa oleifera, which belongs to the Moringaceae family. This plant is well-known for its nutritional properties, arousing in recent years great interest also in the cosmetic and pharmaceutical industry. In order to extend the potential uses of the plant, it was decided to analyse the activities connected with the solar protection field, considering also the interesting phytochemical profile and some preliminary studies already present in the literature. The plant Moringa oleifera is able to grow in a wide range of conditions and soils. It has been possible to observe several biological activities, such as: the Sun Protection Factor (SPF) in vitro, the antioxidant profile, the polyphenol content, the chemical characterization of the flavonoidic fraction, the antimicrobial and antifungal activity, the anti-tumor activity. During the evaluation process different extraction methods have been developed, in order to obtain a complete and exhaustive evaluation of the vegetal raw material’s performance. Subsequently, a comparative study of different collection times was carried out in order to determine the incidence on the analysed biological activities and the best cultivation conditions. The tests were performed on extracts from different parts of the plant grown and collected in two different countries; - First part of the study: Moringa oleifera leaves and seeds collected and dried in Senegal - Second part of the study: Moringa oleifera leaves collected at four different times of the year and dried in Paraguay. This research work on Moringa oleifera resulted in the drafting of a book chapter which provides guidelines for the determination of the Sun Protection Factor and UV filtering activity of plant extracts, taking into consideration the difficulties encountered during the project as well as the experience of the research group in this area. The whole project was preceded by an intense bibliographic research which led to the writing of a review article that describes the state of the art of the research on solar filters of natural origin and on biological activities that can be exploited in the field of photoprotection. The research work described in the thesis shows that various types of extracts obtained from the leaves of the plant have interesting UV filtering properties compatible with use in solar products. In addition, some of the samples have interesting antioxidant, antimicrobial and antifungal activity. Moreover, one of the studied extracts showed an interesting antiproliferative effect against Colo 38 human melanoma cells, which completes a significant series of key biological activities in the prevention of skin photo-aging and of various types of skin diseases.
MANFREDINI, Stefano
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Utilizza questo identificativo per citare o creare un link a questo documento: https://hdl.handle.net/11392/2488290
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