Formulation and Evaluation of Lipstick with Betacyanin Pigment of <i>Hylocereus polyrhizus</i>(Red Dragon Fruit)

Lipstick is the most widely used cosmetic product. Although lipstick gives a lot of social, psychological and therapeutic benefits, it may harm the consumers. Because most lipsticks contained high lead level and long term use of high lead level lipstick may harm the consumers. Research findings have suggested that administration of various antioxidants can prevent or subdue various toxic effects of lead and generation of oxidative stress. Hylocereus polyrhizus (Red dragon fruit) is widely available in Myanmar and it contains powerful antioxidant amaranth colorant called betacyanin pigment. It can prevent the oxidative stress caused by low level of lead, thus suitable as natural colorant for lipstick. As a role of pharmacist, this research was intended to minimize the adverse effects of lipsticks by formulating natural lipstick with betacyanin pigment obtained from H. polyrhizus and other natural ingredients. Formulation of lipstick was carried out by heating and blending method with homogenizer at a speed of 12000 rpm. Then, pH, melting point, surface abnormalities, aging stability, perfume stability and antioxidant activity were performed as quality evaluation. Skin irritation test, microbial analysis and lead content determination were carried out as safety evaluation. Formulated lipsticks with betacyanin pigment of H. polyrhizus have acceptable quality. The IC50 of standard ascorbic acid and formulated lipstick were 4.51 μg/ml and 22.23 μg/ml respectively. In quantitative analysis for microbiological control, formulated lipstick had no visible colony and in qualitative analysis, Staphylococcus aureus, E. coli and Pseudomonas aeruginosa were not detected in 0.5 g of formulated lipsticks. Moreover, lead content of formulated lipstick was only 2.9 ppm that is within allowable limit and it had negligible skin irritancy. Therefore, lipstick with betacyanin pigment of H. polyrhizus can utilize as Cosmeceutical.

Ca^(2+)-Calmodulin is Involved in Betacyanin Accumulation Induced by Dark in C_3 Halophyte Suaeda salsa

The C3 halophyte Suaeda salsa was used to investigate the roles of Ca^2＋, Ca^2＋ channels, and calmodulin （CAM） in betacyanin metabolism. Seeds of S. salsa were cultured in both the dark and light for 3 days. The fresh weight and betacyanin content were much higher in S. salsa seedlings formed in the dark than in seedlings formed in the light. The addition of Ca^2＋ to the half-strength MS nutrient solution promoted betacyanin accumulation in the dark, whereas Ca^2＋ depletion by EGTA suppressed the dark-induced betacyanin accumulation in shoots of S. salsa. The Ca^2＋ channel blocker LaCl3 also inhibited dark-induced betacyanin accumulation. The highest activity of CaM and the maximum betacyanin content decreased by 51% and 45%, respectively, in shoots of S. salsa seedlings treated with the potent CaM antagonist chlorpromazine in the dark. Furthermore, the other CaM antagonist N-（6-aminohexyl）-5-chloro-l-naphthalenesulfonamide （W-7） also inhibited the activity of CaM and dark-dependent betacyanin accumulation, whereas its less active structural analog N-（6-aminohexyl）- 1-naphthalenesulfonamide （W-5） had little effect on the responses to dark of S. salsa seedlings. These results suggest that Ca^2＋, Ca^2＋-regulated ion channels, and CaM play an important role in dark-induced betacyanin accumulation in the shoots of the C3 halophyte S. salsa.