Eye shadows are cosmetic products widely used to enhance appearance. However, the use of raw materials contaminated with heavy metals poses potential health hazards. This study characterized 12 commercial eye shadow samples and quantified concentrations of Al, Ba, B, Cu, Cr, Fe, Mn, Ni, Pb, V, and Zn using inductively coupled plasma mass spectrometry (ICP-MS). Additional characterization using UV-vis, ATR-FTIR, and SEM-EDS techniques provided insights into the composition and potential sources of contamination. Multivariate analysis revealed differences in metal concentrations across brands. Health risk assessments, including margin of safety (MoS), hazard quotient (HQ), hazard index (HI), lifetime cancer risk (LCR), and lifetime cancer risk based on the long-term relevant daily systemic exposure dose (LCR′), indicated that one product may pose significant health risks. Specifically, sample M4 showed an HI of 2.67 × 10¹, exceeding acceptable limits. These findings highlight the need for stricter regulation and continuous monitoring of heavy metals in cosmetics to safeguard consumer health.

Spirulina is a seaweed consumed worldwide and studies related to its biological properties have increased in recent years. However, comparative studies on the antioxidant activity of spirulina are currently scarce. For this reason, this study compared the antioxidant activity of aqueous, hydroalcoholic, and ethanolic extracts of four brands of spirulina (B1, B2, B3, and B4), which are frequently consumed in the city of Arequipa, Peru. For this purpose, fluid extracts of spirulina were prepared using ultrasound. All four brands of spirulina studied were found to exhibit significant antioxidant activity. The aqueous extracts obtained antioxidant activity values of 51.70 ± 0.52, 48.24 ± 0.52, 36.82 ± 0.46, and 13.52 ± 0.61 mol TE/mL for brands B1, B2, B3 and B4, respectively. In the hydroalcoholic extracts, the antioxidant capacity was 6.66 ± 0.53, 6.48 ± 0.95, 3.25 ± 0.17, and 2.85 ± 0.26 mol TE/mL for B1, B2, B3, and B4, respectively. The ethanolic extracts showed antioxidant activity of 2.50 ± 0.26, 2.33 ± 0.26, 1.06 ± 0.26, and 1.00 ± 0.17 mol TE/mL for B1, B2, B3, and B4, respectively. Statistically, the aqueous extracts of the four brands were found to be significantly superior to the hydroalcoholic and ethanolic extracts. Finally, a significant difference was found between the brands of spirulina studied, suggesting that the production processes of spirulina may differ in terms of antioxidant activity. For this reason, further studies could emerge from this study such as the search for the compositionbrand relationship of spirulina, as well as, the standardization of the production process for a more uniform production of spirulina.

Berberis vulgaris is popularly known as Agracejo in Peru. This species has been shown to have important biological properties such as hypolipidemic, antidiabetic, cholagogue, and hepatoprotective effects. Its effects would be related to the varied phytochemical composition obtained after extraction with different solvents or extraction techniques. Therefore, it is necessary to determine the best extraction conditions to obtain the most significant effects according to each extraction technique used. The objective of this research was to evaluate the effect of ultrasound application on the concentration of total phenols and antioxidant capacity of ethanolic, hydroalcoholic, and aqueous extracts of Berberis vulgaris leaves, extracts were obtained by ultrasound application for 0, 5, 10, 20 and 30 minutes at 40 kHz in an ultrasonic bath. The results indicate that the application of ultrasound affects the extraction process of phenolic compounds in ethanolic and hydroalcoholic extracts, it was also demonstrated that an application longer than 20 minutes leads to a decrease in the concentration of these bioactive compounds. On the other hand, ultrasound positively affects the antioxidant capacity of ethanolic and hydroalcoholic extracts up to 20 minutes; however, in aqueous extracts, ultrasound increases the antioxidant capacity up to 10 minutes of application, since exceeding this time this antioxidant capacity decreases. In conclusion, ultrasound does affect the extraction process of phenolic compounds from Berberis vulgaris leaves, and the solvent that favors extraction, guaranteeing a greater antioxidant capacity, is water.

Pesticide residuals in agricultural soils are a global problem that puts non-target organisms, including humans, at risk. The involvement of universities in agricultural activities can be beneficial for monitoring the contamination or residuality of pesticides used on farmland. Therefore, in the present investigation, a method was developed for the quantification of profenofos (PFF) by Thin Layer Chromatography using a mobile phase chloroform: acetone (60:40) obtaining a retention factor (Rf) of 0.35. Using image processing with Image J software resulted in a linear method with an R 2 completion coefficient of 0.9966 which is greater than 0.995, precise with a coefficient of variation (CV) of 1.78 % which is less than 2.7 %, accurate with a recovery percentage of 101.04 % which is in the range of 90 to 110 % with limits of detection and quantification of 0.0639 µg and 0.1522 µg respectively. PFF was quantified in onion and garlic agricultural soils, resulting in concentrations of 0.252 and 0.264 mg/kg, respectively. In conclusion, the present methodology could be adapted to determine other pesticides or be applied in the field for monitoring PFF in agricultural soils by universities or governmental entities, which could lead to more responsible agriculture.