Abstract The cosmetics industry searches for new products with sustainable, natural and non-toxic characteristics. Levan is a microbial exopolysaccharide composed of fructose units with β-2,6-glycoside bonds. Due to its biological properties, levan has a wide range of applications in cosmetics and pharmaceuticals industry. The effects of levan can be improved by its combination with biocompatible actives such as plant-derived compounds and vitamins resulting in a multifunctional cosmetic formulation. Thus, the aim of this study was to develop a new biocosmetic gel-anionic type containing 1 % of levan and plant-derived compounds, such as Aloe vera extract and avocado oil and vitamin E, using simplex lattice mixtures design. According to the statistical analyses, the concentrations to obtain a cosmetic with maximum antioxidant activity (76%), hydration capacity (98.37%) and spreadability (767.30 mm2), would be 10% (0.1 mL) of Aloe vera, and 90% (0.9 mL) of avocado oil. Cosmeceutical formulations showed good stability and did not show phase separation or visible changes being classified as normal. The development of innovative and sustainable cosmetic formulations, with natural, vegan and non-toxic molecules is of great importance for cosmetic industry.

Abstract Sophorolipids are glycolipids that have natural antimicrobial properties and present great potential in the pharmaceutical field. The present study aimed to produce sophorolipids from Candida bombicola using a chicken fat-based medium and evaluate the antimicrobial activity against Gram-negative (Proteus mirabilis, Escherichia coli, Salmonella enterica subsp. enterica) and Gram-positive bacteria (Enterococcus faecium, Staphylococcus aureus and Streptococcus mutans). The production of sophorolipids reached 27.86 g L-1. Based on the structural characterization, 73.55% of the sophorolipids present a mixture of acidic monoacetylated C18:2 and lactonic diacetylated C16:0, and 26.45% were present in the diacetylated C18:1 lactonic form. Bacteria submitted to sophorolipid exposure showed a reduction in viability at doses of 500 μg mL-1 and 2,000 μg mL-1 against Gram-positive and Gram-negative bacteria, respectively. These results suggest that sophorolipids produced in chicken fat medium may be used as antimicrobial agents to prevent or eliminate contamination by different pathogens.

ABSTRACT Immobilization is an excellent tool for enzymatic stabilization, improving the biocatalytic processes, allowing the reuse of the enzyme and promoting an easier separation of the molecule of interest. Currently, new enzymatic bonding processes are arising on solid supports, based on classical immobilization methods. Amongst the supports used, chitosan is a polysaccharide that offers a unique set of characteristics, as biocompatibility, biodegradability, non-toxicity and antibacterial properties. Thus, many enzymes has being immobilized on this support, including levansucrase, that is able to synthesize levan and fructooligosaccharides, two important biomolecules which have beneficial health properties. These review present different methods of immobilization (physical adsorption, entrapment, crosslinking and covalent bonding) for fructosyltransferases, as well as different immobilization matrices that can be applied in biotechnological processes. However, studies are still needed in order to adopt efficient immobilization techniques, in which the biocatalyst remains more stable, in order to become the process attractive to the industrial sector.