Publications by authors named "Francesca Capetti"

Tyrosinase is a target enzyme to be inhibited in order to reduce excessive melanin production and prevent typical age-related skin disorders. Essential oils are complex mixtures of volatile compounds, belonging mainly to monoterpenoids and sesquiterpenoids, which have been relatively little studied as tyrosinase inhibitors. Among the monoterpenoids, citral (a mixture of neral and geranial) is a fragrance compound in several essential oils that has shown interesting tyrosinase inhibitory activity.

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Article Synopsis
  • * The study utilized an ultrasound-assisted solid-liquid extraction method to chemically profile various samples of the plant using advanced chromatography techniques, revealing a presence of mainly flavonoids and non-psychotomimetic cannabinoids.
  • * Results indicated that freeze-drying better preserves the plant's chemical composition, while the growth stage and land plot had minimal effects, with additional assays suggesting potential biological benefits of these cannabinoids.
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As part of a project devoted to the phytochemical study of Ecuadorian biodiversity, new essential oils are systematically distilled and analysed. In the present work, Less (Asteraceae) has been selected and some wild specimens collected to investigate the volatile fraction. The essential oil, obtained from fresh leaves, was analysed for the first time in the present study.

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The quality control of essential oils (EO) principally aims at revealing the presence of adulterations and at quantifying compounds that are limited by law by evaluating EO chemical compositions, usually in terms of the normalised relative abundance of selected markers, for comparison to reference values reported in pharmacopoeias and/or international norms. Common adulterations of EO consist of the addition of cheaper EO or synthetic materials. This adulteration can be detected by calculating the percent normalised areas of selected markers or the enantiomeric composition of chiral components.

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Excessive melanin production causes serious dermatological conditions as well as minor aesthetic problems (i.e., freckles and solar lentigo).

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Type 2 diabetes mellitus (T2DM) is a metabolic disorder characterized by unpaired blood glycaemia maintenance. T2DM can be treated by inhibiting carbohydrate hydrolyzing enzymes (α-amylases and α-glucosidases) to decrease postprandial hyperglycemia. Acarbose and voglibose are inhibitors used in clinical practice.

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essential oil (tea tree oil) is widely used as an ingredient in skin care products because of its recognized biological activities. The European Scientific Committee on Consumer Products constantly promotes research and collection of data on both skin distribution and systemic exposure to tea tree oil components after the application of topical formulations. This study quantitatively evaluates permeation, skin layer distribution (, epidermis, and dermis), and release into the surrounding environment of bioactive tea tree oil markers (i.

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The frankincense resins, secreted from Boswellia species, are an uncommon example of a natural raw material where every class of terpenoids is present in similar proportions. Diterpenoids (serratol, incensole, and incensole acetate) are used to discriminate samples from different species and origins. Headspace solid-phase microextraction has been used for frankincense analysis, although it requires long sampling time for medium- to low-volatility markers; headspace solid-phase microextraction under vacuum can overcome this limit.

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Matrix effects (ME) is acknowledged as being one of the major drawbacks of quantitative bioanalytical methods, involving the use of liquid chromatography coupled to mass spectrometry (LC-MS). In the present study, the incidence of ME in SFC-MS/MS and LC-MS/MS in the positive mode electrospray ionization (ESI+) was systematically compared for the analysis of urine and plasma samples using two representative sets of 40 doping agents and 38 pharmaceutical compounds, respectively. Three different SFC stationary phase chemistries were employed, to highlight the importance of the column in terms of selectivity.

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