Department of Antibiotics, Biosciences Center, Federal University of Pernambuco (UFPE), Avenida Prof. Artur de Sá, s/n, 50740-520 Recife, PE, Brazil.
Brazilian Biorenewables National Laboratory (LNBR), Brazilian Center for Research in Energy and Materials (CNPEM), Polo II de Alta Tecnologia, Rua Giuseppe Máximo Scolfaro, 10.000, PO Box 6192, 13083-100 Campinas, SP, Brazil.
Int J Biol Macromol. 2021 Jun 1;180:286-298. doi: 10.1016/j.ijbiomac.2021.03.077. Epub 2021 Mar 15.
Lignins are phenolic macromolecules that have several applications. In this work, we examine some biological activities of a lignin-like macromolecule isolated from the Crataeva tapia leaves, not yet studied to evaluate its potential applications in medicinal and cosmetic formulations. Lignin was obtained by alkaline delignification and its physical-chemical characterization was made by means of FT-IR, UV-Vis, NMR spectroscopy, elementary analysis, molecular mass determination and thermal analysis. Lignin is of the GSH type, with levels of hydrogen (5.10%), oxygen (27.18%), carbon (67.60%), nitrogen (0.12%) and phenolic content of 189.6 ± 9.6 mg GAE/g. In addition, it is a thermally stable macromolecule with low antioxidant activity. Cytotoxicity and cytokine production were assessed by flow cytometry. The photoprotective activity was evaluated by adding different concentrations of lignin to a commercial cream. Lignin was not cytotoxic, it stimulated the production of TNF-α, IL-6 and IL-10 and did not promote a significant change in nitric oxide levels. In addition, this macromolecule was able to promote increased absorption of ultraviolet light from a commercial cream. These results reinforce the ethnopharmacological use of C. tapia leaves and suggest the need for further studies to determine the potential medicinal and cosmetic applications (sunscreen) of lignin from C. tapia leaves.
木质素是具有多种应用的酚类大分子。在这项工作中，我们研究了从刺桐叶中分离出的一种木质素样大分子的一些生物活性，这些活性尚未得到研究，以评估其在药物和化妆品制剂中的潜在应用。木质素通过碱性脱木质素获得，并通过傅里叶变换红外光谱（FT-IR）、紫外-可见光谱（UV-Vis）、核磁共振波谱（NMR）、元素分析、分子量测定和热分析对其物理化学性质进行了表征。木质素属于 GSH 型，氢（5.10%）、氧（27.18%）、碳（67.60%）、氮（0.12%）和酚含量为 189.6±9.6 mg GAE/g。此外，它是一种热稳定的大分子，抗氧化活性低。通过流式细胞术评估细胞毒性和细胞因子产生。通过向商业乳膏中添加不同浓度的木质素来评估其光保护活性。木质素无细胞毒性，它刺激 TNF-α、IL-6 和 IL-10 的产生，并且不会引起一氧化氮水平的显著变化。此外，这种大分子能够促进商业乳膏中紫外线的吸收增加。这些结果加强了刺桐叶的民族药理学用途，并表明需要进一步研究来确定刺桐叶木质素在药物和化妆品（防晒霜）方面的潜在应用。
