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Functional Gels Loaded with Natural Products
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Functional Gels Loaded with Natural Products

A special issue of Gels (ISSN 2310-2861). This special issue belongs to the section "Gel Processing and Engineering".

Deadline for manuscript submissions: 30 September 2025 | Viewed by 5188

Special Issue Editor

Prof. Dr. Kristina Ramanauskienė

E-Mail Website
Guest Editor
Department of Clinical Pharmacy, Faculty of Pharmacy, University of Health Sciences, Sukileliai Avenue 13, LT-50162 Kaunas, Lithuania
Interests: natural compounds; plant extract; analytical chemistry; pharmaceutical development; drug delivery
Special Issues, Collections and Topics in MDPI journals

Special Issue Information

Dear Colleagues,

In consideration of the fact that gels are increasingly applied in the production of pharmaceuticals, cosmetics, and food systems, this Special Issue intends to review the quality of gels and assess their biological activity through in vitro scientific studies. Currently, researchers are examining and practically applying hydrogels, for which natural and synthetic gelling agents are used to gelify aqueous phases. On the other hand, oleogels, due to their acceptable rheological and sensory properties and ability to incorporate lipophilic active substances, have also shown strong potential for application in the pharmaceutical, cosmetic, and food industries. Gels can be used both externally and internally. Edible gels and in situ local effect gels are currently receiving increasing attention. The choice of gelling agent depends on the intended use of the gel and the active substances to be incorporated. Natural components are selected for gel composition based on their biological properties. Natural extracts or biologically active compounds with anti-inflammatory, antimicrobial, and antioxidant properties are often incorporated. Gels loaded with natural products must be stable, release active compounds, and exhibit suitable physicochemical properties. When selecting plant extracts, significant attention is paid to their chemical composition analysis and standardization. This Special Issue aims to gather the latest data on the modeling and quality assessment of hydrogels, oleogels, and in situ gels; the chemical composition of incorporated natural components; biological activity; and in vitro release studies of active compounds.

Prof. Dr. Kristina Ramanauskienė
Guest Editor

Manuscript Submission Information

Manuscripts should be submitted online at www.mdpi.com by registering and logging in to this website. Once you are registered, click here to go to the submission form. Manuscripts can be submitted until the deadline. All submissions that pass pre-check are peer-reviewed. Accepted papers will be published continuously in the journal (as soon as accepted) and will be listed together on the special issue website. Research articles, review articles as well as short communications are invited. For planned papers, a title and short abstract (about 100 words) can be sent to the Editorial Office for announcement on this website.

Submitted manuscripts should not have been published previously, nor be under consideration for publication elsewhere (except conference proceedings papers). All manuscripts are thoroughly refereed through a single-blind peer-review process. A guide for authors and other relevant information for submission of manuscripts is available on the Instructions for Authors page. Gels is an international peer-reviewed open access monthly journal published by MDPI.

Please visit the Instructions for Authors page before submitting a manuscript. The Article Processing Charge (APC) for publication in this open access journal is 2100 CHF (Swiss Francs). Submitted papers should be well formatted and use good English. Authors may use MDPI's English editing service prior to publication or during author revisions.

Keywords

  • natural compounds
  • antioxidant activity
  • biological activity
  • gelling agents
  • in vitro
  • rheology

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Published Papers (4 papers)

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Research

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22 pages, 8422 KiB  
Article
Alginate Microbeads for Trapping Phenolic Antioxidants in Rosemary (Rosmarinus officinalis L.): Multivariate Optimization Based on Bioactive Properties and Morphological Measurements
by Gizem Toprakçı, İrem Toprakçı and Selin Şahin
Gels 2025, 11(3), 172; https://doi.org/10.3390/gels11030172 - 27 Feb 2025
Viewed by 573
Abstract
Medical and aromatic plant extracts are often very sensitive to environmental, gastrointestinal, and processing conditions despite their health benefits. Therefore, they can be rapidly inactivated. Microencapsulation is used to overcome such challenges. In this study, phenolic antioxidants from rosemary (Rosmarinus officinalis L.) [...] Read more.
Medical and aromatic plant extracts are often very sensitive to environmental, gastrointestinal, and processing conditions despite their health benefits. Therefore, they can be rapidly inactivated. Microencapsulation is used to overcome such challenges. In this study, phenolic antioxidants from rosemary (Rosmarinus officinalis L.) were encapsulated in alginate beads by means of ionic gelation. A Box–Behnken design with response surface methodology (BBD–RSM) was used with three numeric factors (calcium chloride concentration, alginate concentration, and hardening time) to achieve the best formulation in terms of encapsulation efficiency, antioxidant activity, and morphological characteristics. Generally, the sodium alginate concentration of the microbeads was the most critical factor (p < 0.0001) for the quality of the products. The optimal encapsulation conditions were accessed using concentrations with almost 6% calcium chloride and 2% alginate, and a time of 10 min for bead hardening in order to obtain the highest responses (30.01% encapsulation efficiency, 7.55 mg-TEAC/g-DM of antioxidant activity value as measured by the DPPH method, a sphericity factor of 0.05, and a roundness of 0.78). At the optimum point, the microbeads were determined to be spherical in shape, and the bulk density value was measured as 0.34 ± 0.01 g/mL. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Functional Gels Loaded with Natural Products)
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23 pages, 2600 KiB  
Article
Formulation of Hydrogel Beads to Improve the Bioaccessibility of Bioactive Compounds from Goldenberry and Purple Passion Fruit and Evaluation of Their Antiproliferative Effects on Human Colorectal Carcinoma Cells
by Ana María Naranjo-Durán, Diego Miedes, Juan Manuel Patiño-Osorio, Antonio Cilla, Amparo Alegría, Catalina Marín-Echeverri, Julián Quintero-Quiroz and Gelmy Luz Ciro-Gómez
Gels 2025, 11(1), 10; https://doi.org/10.3390/gels11010010 - 27 Dec 2024
Cited by 1 | Viewed by 1118
Abstract
Goldenberry and purple passion fruit contain bioactive compounds (BCs) that can prevent gastrointestinal cancers; hydrogel beads can protect and control their release in the gastrointestinal tract. This study aimed to develop an encapsulating material for fruit hydrogel beads (FHBs) to increase their bioaccessibility [...] Read more.
Goldenberry and purple passion fruit contain bioactive compounds (BCs) that can prevent gastrointestinal cancers; hydrogel beads can protect and control their release in the gastrointestinal tract. This study aimed to develop an encapsulating material for fruit hydrogel beads (FHBs) to increase their bioaccessibility and to assess antiproliferative effects. A blend of goldenberry–purple passion fruit was encapsulated using ionic gelation and electrospraying. Through a mixture experimental design with sodium alginate (SA), hydroxypropylmethylcellulose (HPMC) and arabic gum (AG) as components, the following response variables were optimized: polyphenol bioaccessibility and encapsulation efficiency. Polyphenols and antioxidant activity were quantified before and after digestion. Antiproliferative effect was evaluated on Caco-2 colon cancer cells. Variations in formulation proportions had a significant effect (p < 0.05) on most responses. An SA-AG mixture in a 0.75:0.25 ratio maximized polyphenol bioaccessibility to 213.17 ± 19.57% and encapsulation efficiency to 89.46 ± 6.64%. Polyphenols and antioxidant activity were lower in FHBs than in the fruit blend (F). Both F and FHBs inhibited tumor cell proliferation by 17% and 25%, respectively. In conclusion, encapsulating BCs in hydrogel beads with SA-AG can enhance the effectiveness of polyphenols in food applications by improving their bioaccessibility and showing a more pronounced effect in inhibiting tumor cell proliferation. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Functional Gels Loaded with Natural Products)
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14 pages, 1149 KiB  
Article
Application of Poloxamer for In Situ Eye Drop Modeling by Enrichment with Propolis and Balsam Poplar Buds Phenolic Compounds
by Monika Jokubaite, Mindaugas Marksa and Kristina Ramanauskiene
Gels 2024, 10(3), 161; https://doi.org/10.3390/gels10030161 - 21 Feb 2024
Cited by 3 | Viewed by 2035
Abstract
In situ poloxamer-based gels are increasingly being explored as ocular drug delivery carriers to extend the release of active substances, thereby enhancing bioavailability. The objective of this study was to develop thermally stable in situ gels incorporating balsam poplar bud extract, propolis extract, [...] Read more.
In situ poloxamer-based gels are increasingly being explored as ocular drug delivery carriers to extend the release of active substances, thereby enhancing bioavailability. The objective of this study was to develop thermally stable in situ gels incorporating balsam poplar bud extract, propolis extract, and p-coumaric acid solution and to evaluate the physicochemical parameters of these gelified eye drops. This research assessed the compatibility of poloxamer-based eye drops with active components, their physicochemical properties, stability post-sterilization and during storage, and the release profiles of the active compounds. Fifteen eye drop formulations were prepared and categorized into three groups based on active components. One of the active components was propolis extract. As an alternative to propolis, eye drops containing the plant precursor, balsam poplar bud extract, were developed. The third group’s active component was p-coumaric acid, a dominant phenolic acid in propolis and balsam poplar bud extracts. The study reported phenolic contents of 76.63 CAE mg/g for propolis and 83.25 CAE mg/g for balsam poplar bud aqueous extracts, with balsam poplar bud extracts showing higher SPF values (14.0) compared to propolis (12.7), while p-coumaric acid solution exhibited the highest SPF values (25.5). All eye drops were transparent, with pH values meeting the requirements for ocular drops. Formulations containing 8–10% poloxamer 407 met the criteria for in situ gels. All formulations remained stable for 90 days. Conclusion: The study results indicate that the formulated gels possess suitable physicochemical properties, are resistant to applied autoclaving conditions, and exhibit an extended release of active compounds with an increase in poloxamer content. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Functional Gels Loaded with Natural Products)
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Review

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24 pages, 6252 KiB  
Review
Flavonoid-Based Nanogels: A Comprehensive Overview
by Sergio Liga and Cristina Paul
Gels 2025, 11(4), 267; https://doi.org/10.3390/gels11040267 - 4 Apr 2025
Viewed by 771
Abstract
The growing field of nanotechnology has recently given much attention to nanogels, which are versatile formulas and have promising biomedical applications. Nanogels or nanohydrogels have undergone significant development in various fields of biomedical and industrial research to meet increasing demands, such as in [...] Read more.
The growing field of nanotechnology has recently given much attention to nanogels, which are versatile formulas and have promising biomedical applications. Nanogels or nanohydrogels have undergone significant development in various fields of biomedical and industrial research to meet increasing demands, such as in pharmaceuticals, cosmetics, food, and genetic engineering. Nanogels that contain flavonoids, which are secondary metabolites found in plants, are starting to become distinctive and reveal their unique characteristics. The objective of the article is to provide a comprehensive overview of recent research articles on flavonoid-based nanogels, emphasizing the general aspects regarding nanogel formulation and structural characterization, as well as the advancements made in the biomedical field. In conclusion, this article outlines up-to-date developments in the synthesis, formulation, structural characterization, and therapeutic applications of flavonoid-based nanogels, emphasizing their important role in the field of nanotechnology. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Functional Gels Loaded with Natural Products)
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