Abstract

The use of fruit seed oils in personal care products is of significance to both their function and image. Poland is an important processor of fruit products within the EU, and thus has a large availability of seeds from domestic fruits, which are normally considered to be a waste material. Unfortunately, current literature is scarce of the suitability of these oils for topical use in the form of cosmetic emulsions. Published data on these oils is generally limited to their use in the food industry. The aim of this dissertation was to determine the viability of domestic fruit seeds, such as apple, blackberries, blackcurrants, plum and strawberries as sources of unsaturated fatty acids (PUFAs) in personal care emulsions. To that end the seed oils were tested for their fatty acids composition. Consequently, the fruit seed oils were used as an additive in the oily phase components in oil-in-water (O/W) systems and nanostructured lipid carriers (NLCs). The latter as a delivery and protection system for the PUFAs The O/W systems stability, rheological properties and the sensory analysis were tested. The best emulsion obtained during the formulation optimization process had the composition 4% and 5% of seed oil with an o:w phase ratio 20:80. The best stability had the emulsions with ratio polar:nonpolar lipid 60:40 respectively. In fact, the bioactive components are useful only if they are able to penetrate the skin unchanged. Therefore, an alternate way to deliver naturally occurring PUFAs was presented. Thermodynamic (DSC) and structural techniques (1H NMR) were applied in order to characterize the obtained systems in terms of seed oil incorporation into the NLC, and oxidative stability tests were used to confirm the protective quality of the systems. During the formulation optimization process the most stable nanosuspension with the best seed oil incorporation was a mixture of 4% nonionic emulsifiers, 88% water and 6% lipids with a ratio of 6:2, wax:oil. The oxidative stability tests showed that the NLC was an effective method of protection of the PUFAs.

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