LC-HR/MS Analysis of Lipophilic Extracts from <i>Calendula arvensis</i> (Vaill.) L. Organs: An Unexplored Source in Cosmeceuticals
Claudia Gravina,
Marika Fiorentino,
Marialuisa Formato,
Maria Tommasina Pecoraro,
Simona Piccolella,
Adriano Stinca,
Severina Pacifico,
Assunta Esposito
Affiliations
Claudia Gravina
Department of Environmental, Biological and Pharmaceutical Sciences and Technologies, University of Campania “Luigi Vanvitelli” Via Vivaldi 43, 81100 Caserta, Italy
Marika Fiorentino
Department of Environmental, Biological and Pharmaceutical Sciences and Technologies, University of Campania “Luigi Vanvitelli” Via Vivaldi 43, 81100 Caserta, Italy
Marialuisa Formato
Department of Environmental, Biological and Pharmaceutical Sciences and Technologies, University of Campania “Luigi Vanvitelli” Via Vivaldi 43, 81100 Caserta, Italy
Maria Tommasina Pecoraro
Department of Environmental, Biological and Pharmaceutical Sciences and Technologies, University of Campania “Luigi Vanvitelli” Via Vivaldi 43, 81100 Caserta, Italy
Simona Piccolella
Department of Environmental, Biological and Pharmaceutical Sciences and Technologies, University of Campania “Luigi Vanvitelli” Via Vivaldi 43, 81100 Caserta, Italy
Adriano Stinca
Department of Environmental, Biological and Pharmaceutical Sciences and Technologies, University of Campania “Luigi Vanvitelli” Via Vivaldi 43, 81100 Caserta, Italy
Severina Pacifico
Department of Environmental, Biological and Pharmaceutical Sciences and Technologies, University of Campania “Luigi Vanvitelli” Via Vivaldi 43, 81100 Caserta, Italy
Assunta Esposito
Department of Environmental, Biological and Pharmaceutical Sciences and Technologies, University of Campania “Luigi Vanvitelli” Via Vivaldi 43, 81100 Caserta, Italy
As part of a project aimed at promoting the use of Calendula arvensis (Vaill.) L. (field marigold, Asteraceae) phytocomplexes in cosmeceutical formulations, the chemical composition in apolar specialized metabolites is herein elucidated. Furthermore, the screening of the cytotoxicity of the apolar extracts was evaluated in order to underline their safety as functional ingredients for cosmetics. After dissection of Calendula organs (florets, fruits, leaves, bracts, stems, and roots), ultrasound-assisted maceration in n-hexane as an extracting solvent allowed us to obtain oil-like mixtures, whose chemical composition has been highlighted through a UHPLC-ESI-QqTOF-MS/MS approach. Twenty-nine metabolites were tentatively identified; different compounds, among which the well-known poly-unsaturated fatty acids, and oxylipins and phosphatides were detected for the first time in Calendula genus. The screening of the dose-response cytotoxicity of the apolar extracts of C. arvensis highlighted the concentration of 10 μg/mL as the most suitable for the formulation of cosmeceutical preparations. Sera enriched with leaf and fruit apolar extracts turned out to have the best activity, suggesting it can be used as a new source in skin care thanks to their higher content in fatty acids.
