The Tanacetum vulgare L. (Tansy) has several ethnobotanical uses, mostly related to the essential oil and sesquiterpene lactones, whereas information regarding other compounds is scarce. This research is designed to characterize the phenolic compounds (flavonoids, phenolic acids, and tannins) to analyze the thujone (which is toxic in high concentrations) content and to detect the antioxidant activity (DPPH assay) of extracts. The main highlights of our work provide a chemical profile of phenolic compounds of T. vulgare harvested from different regions of Latvia, as well as simultaneously support the ethnomedicinal uses for wild T. vulgare through the integration of phenolic compounds as one of the value constituents of leaves and flowers. The extraction yield was 18 to 20% for leaves and 8 to 16% for flowers. The total phenol content in the extracts of T. vulgare as well as their antioxidant activity was different between collection regions and the aerial parts ranging from 134 to 218 mg GAE/g and 32 to 182 mg L⁻¹, respectively. A remarkable variation in the thujone (α + β) content (0.4% up to 6%) was detected in the extracts. T. vulgare leaf extracts were rich in tannins (up to 19%). According to the parameters detected, the extracts of T. vulgare could be considered promising for the development of new herbal products.

The customisation of solid oral dosage forms is essential for maximising efficacy, minimising harm, and providing patient-centred care. Fused Deposition Modelling (FDM) 3D-printing (3DP) is current research of interest within the pharmaceutical industry to produce personalised 3D printed oral "tablets" (printlets) by utilising drug-loaded polymer filaments. Due to the novelty of such technique within the pharmaceutical industry, the printability of many dosage forms and the effect of physical parameters such as the geometry of printlets requires additional research. In this work, the printability of prednisolone (PDL) loaded semi-crystalline polyvinyl alcohol (PVAl) filament was investigated via various characterisation and analytical techniques, such as optical microscopy, x-ray micro-computed tomography (μCT), powder x-ray diffraction (pXRD), thermogravimetric analysis (TGA), differential scanning calorimetry (DSC), melt rheology (at 215 ℃), and dissolution testing. Using these techniques, it was shown that the viscosity of the prednisolone-loaded polyvinyl alcohol (PVAl-PDL) drastically decreased with increasing shear rate beyond 5 s^-1 due to the presence of prednisolone which affected the macro and microscopic qualities of the printlets upon using the same printing settings (215 ℃) as for the polymer only. It was further shown that the geometry (structure) of the printlets had a significant influence on the drug release with the most influential factor being the contact surface area to volume ratio in contrast to other parameters. The results presented in this work show the ability of FDM 3DP within the pharmaceutical industry and the possibility to control the drug release, and the macro and microstructure qualities of the printlets.

Structuring liquid oils into oleogels using natural and abundant biomass components as gelling agents is of great significance in fields such as foods, pharmaceuticals, and cosmetics. In this work, a more energy-efficient and technologically simpler approach for directly preparing birch outer bark extract particles containing oleogel was used. This method involves introducing birch outer bark extract particles into the oil phase directly from the extract solution, combining both the evaporation of solution and gel formation. As a result, stable oleogels of various vegetable oils (sunflower, almond, olive, and hemp seed) were obtained with birch outer bark extract particle contents of 4–10%. Infrared spectroscopy and particle size analysis confirmed that when increasing the content of extract particles in the oil, increasing self-assembly of extract particles via hydrogen bonding occurs, leading to the formation of a more structured network. This is consistent with gel strength values from rheological tests of oleogels, which also increased with particle concentration. The obtained oleogels showed important properties such as good tolerance to time-dependent deformation, shear thinning, and thermoreversibility.

Methods: Effervescent granules containing citric acid and sodium bicarbonate were successfully prepared for the first time via TS-MG using a polyol (sorbitol) as a melt binder. Results: Processing parameters, specifically granulation temperature and screw speed, were systematically varied to investigate their influence. The granulation efficiency, inversely related to the wt.% of fines, decreased in the following order across the tested conditions (granulation temperature–screw speed; ℃-rpm): 95-6 > 100-5 > 90-5 > 100-7 > 90-7. Granulation temperature had a minimal impact on the bulk and tapped densities of the uncalibrated granules, whereas increased screw speed led to higher densities, associated with a reduced proportion of fines. The tensile strength of the resulting effervescent tablets increased with granulation temperature and was generally higher for tablets derived from granules with higher granulation efficiency. The residence time within the TS-MG barrel decreased with increasing temperature and screw speed. Notably, the greatest effect of granulation temperature on tensile strength occurred between 90 and 95 °C, particularly under longer residence times. The disintegration time of the tablets was shortest for the 90 °C and 5 rpm condition, corresponding to the lowest tensile strength, while tablets across formulations showed consistent homogeneity as indicated by similar pH values post-disintegration. Conclusions: These findings underscore sorbitol’s suitability as a melt binder and highlight the interplay between TS-MG parameters and the physical characteristics of effervescent granules and tablets.

Cranioplasty remains associated with significant intra- and postoperative complications, with infection as the leading cause of implant failure.