The cashew tree (Anacardium occidentale L.) is a tropical plant found widely in many Southeast Asian countries, including Thailand, and contains bioactive phenolic compounds with antioxidant activity. The natural antioxidants such as collagenase and tyrosinase inhibitors found in medicinal plants are promising agents in cosmetic products. This study evaluated the inhibitory activities of the collagenase and tyrosinase from cashew leaf extracts by developing and evaluating the stability of facial cream formulations. The ethanol (DEN), ethyl acetate (DEA) and distilled water (DDW) crude extracts of cashew leaves were investigated for their bioactive compound efficacy. The DDW extract had the highest yield (24.97%). All the extracts were investigated for their antioxidant activities. The DEN extract showed the highest DPPH radical-scavenging ability, ferric-reducing power and flavonoid compounds, which were 152.04 ± 2.40 mg gallic acid/g extract, 37.90 ± 1.07 mg gallic acid/g dry weight and 7.63 ± 0.07 mg quercetin/g dry weight, respectively. The DDW extract exhibited the highest potent activity, which was 111.00 ± 0.78 mg gallic acid/g dry weight in terms of phenolic content, while the DEN extract showed the highest tyrosinase inhibition at 0.100 mg/mL (46.97 ± 3.34%) and collagenase activity at 40 µg/mL. The results suggested that the ethanolic extracts from cashew leaves showed promise for use in skincare product development. Cosmeceutical formulations for skincare were prepared. The formula mixed with DEN extract and added to whitening and anti-aging skincare cream demonstrated good stability and physical properties.

Zea mays L. Poaceae stigma (corn silk, CS) is a byproduct of agricultural waste and is used as a traditional herb in many countries. CS is rich in chemical compounds known to benefit human health and is also a remedy for infectious diseases and has anti-proliferative effects on human cancer cell lines. In the present study, CS extract has been evaluated for its antioxidant, antibacterial, and anti-tyrosinase activities and its phytochemical composition. The higher total phenolic and flavonoid contents were found in the ethanolic extract of corn silk (CSA), at 28.27 ± 0.86 mg gallic acid equivalent/g extract and 4.71 ± 0.79 mg quercetin equivalent/g extract, respectively. Moreover, the antioxidant content of CSA was found at 5.22 ± 0.87 and 13.20 ± 0.42 mg gallic acid equivalent/g extract using DPPH and reducing power assays. Furthermore, the ethanolic extract of corn silk showed tyrosinase inhibition with an IC₅₀ value of 12.45 µg/mL. The bacterial growth inhibition of CSA was tested using agar disc diffusion and broth dilution assays against Cutibacterium acnes and Staphylococcus epidermidis. It was found that CSA inhibited C. acnes and S. epidermidis with an inhibition zone of 11.7 ± 1.2 and 9.3 ± 0.6 mm, respectively. Moreover, the CSA showed MIC/MBC of 15.625 mg/mL against C. acnes. The following phytochemical compounds were detected in CSA: cardiac glycosides; n-hexadecanoic acid; hexadecanoic acid, ethyl ester; oleic acid; and 9,12-octadecadienoic acid, ethyl ester. After the corn silk cream product was formulated, the product demonstrated stability without phase separation. This research is beneficial for promoting effective ways to use agricultural waste while utilizing the antioxidant, anti-tyrosinase, and antibacterial activities of corn silk. Moreover, the use of technology and innovation to obtain high-value CS extract will benefit the development of commercial cosmetic products by providing safe, natural, and quality ingredients to the consumer.

Maekuang reservoir is one of the water resources which provides water supply, livestock, and recreational in Chiangmai city, Thailand. The water quality and Microcystis aeruginosa are a severe problem in many reservoirs. M. aeruginosa is the most widespread toxic cyanobacteria in Thailand. Difficulty prediction for planning protects Maekuang reservoirs, the artificial Neural Network (ANN) model is a powerful tool that can be used to machine learning and prediction by observation data. ANN is able to learn from previous data and has been used to predict the value in the future. ANN consists of three layers as input, hidden, and output layer. Water quality data is collected biweekly at Maekuang reservoir (1999-2000). Input data for training, including nutrients (ammonium, nitrate, and phosphorus), Secchi depth, BOD, temperature, conductivity, pH, and output data for testing as Chlorophyll a and M. aeruginosa cells. The model was evaluated using four performances, namely; mean squared error (MSE), root mean square error (RMSE), sum of square error (SSE), and percentage error. It was found that the model prediction agreed with experimental data. C01-C08 scenarios focused on M. aeruginosa bloom prediction, and ANN tested for prediction of Chlorophyll a bloom shown on M01-M09 scenarios. The findings showed, this model has been validated for prediction of Chlorophyll a and shows strong agreement for nitrate, Log cell, and Chlorophyll a. Results indicate that the ANN can be predicted eutrophication indicators during the summer season, and ANN has efficient for providing the new data set and predict the behavior of M. aeruginosa bloom process.

Durio zibethinus Murray, or durian fruit, is considered the “King of fruit” in various parts of Southeast Asia. It is classified in the Durio genus, which has been reported to be beneficial in the medical and pharmaceutical industry. The objective of this study was to investigate the physicochemical properties, biological activities, and cosmetic applications of the polysaccharide extractions from the green (GH) and white (WH) fruit-hulls and the ethanolic extracts from the pulp (P) and seeds (S) of D. Zibethinus. The extracts were developed as cosmetic products, and skin irritation was assessed by volunteers. P, S, GH, and WH extracts gave percentage yields of 12.13, 4.01, 1.60, and 1.18, respectively. The morphological structure of GH was highly porous, while the surface of WH was flattened, with no porosity observed. The seed extract showed the highest total phenolic content and antioxidant activity (DPPH) of 0.33 ± 0.01 mg GAE/g and IC₅₀ 0.08 ± 0.00 mg/mL, respectively, while no anti-tyrosinase activity was detected in any individual extract. The total phenolic content, DPPH assay, and anti-tyrosinase activity after blending the extracts were significantly (p < 0.05) higher than in the individual extracts. Combining extracts such as SGH and SGWH gave IC₅₀ values of anti-tyrosinase activity at 8.69 ± 1.82 mg/mL and 0.067 ± 0.00 mg/mL, respectively. No durian extracts exhibited growth inhibition against Staphylococcus aureus, Streptococcus pyogenes, and Cutibacterium acnes. A gel formulation containing durian extract was prepared by a cold process. It had good stability, with no skin irritation reported by the volunteers. Both crude durian and polysaccharide extracts showed promise as active ingredients in cosmetic products.

The aim of this study was to investigate the effects of drying process preparations, solvent type, and different species of Prunus spp. (European, Japanese, and cherry plums) on bioactive properties (antioxidant, anti‐lipid peroxidation, anti‐tyrosinase, and anti‐inflammatory activities) and rutin content. Leaves and fresh fruits of plums were dried using a cold process (vacuum freeze dryer at −105 ± 5°C) and a hot process (hot air oven at 50 ± 0.5°C). The dried plant material was then extracted using ethanol and propylene glycol to obtain ethanolic crude extracts and propylene glycol extract solutions. These extracts were then tested for phenolic and flavonoid contents and their potential biological activities and analyzed for rutin content using the HPLC method. The results showed that the ethanolic extract of plum leaves obtained via the cold‐drying process exhibited higher total phenolic and flavonoid contents (96.94 ± 6.73–112.34 ± 9.08 mg GAE/g sample and 105.10 ± 11.31–185.94 ± 23.35 mg QE/g sample, respectively), as well as greater potential for antioxidant activity (DPPH with IC₅₀ = 29.97 ± 1.17 to 31.44 ± 4.16 μg/mL), anti‐tyrosinase activity (40.34 ± 1.27%–46.91 ± 0.22%), and anti‐lipid peroxidation activity (34.10 ± 4.88%–38.27 ± 2.12%). They also exhibited higher anti‐inflammatory activity by inhibiting NO (20.16 ± 0.12%–40.05 ± 0.42%), IL‐6 (37.81 ± 3.01%–42.37 ± 8.92%), and TNF‐α (45.96 ± 7.93%–63.28 ± 6.44%) compared to fresh plum fruit extracts and other extraction procedures. These activities correlated with the rutin content, which was high in the plum leaf extracts (28.52 ± 0.00%–43.82 ± 0.13% w/w). European plums tended to exhibit greater bioactivities and higher rutin content compared to other species. These findings indicate that plum leaf extracts are a promising source for further applications in food, nutrition, and health products.