Nance fruits are produced worldwide in small cultivars and are valued for their characteristic aroma, flavor, and rich vitamins and fiber, as well as for their antioxidant characteristics. The use of herbal infusions in various communities is common, and considerable knowledge behind such usage remains empirical. In this work, we investigated the bioactive profile of nance fruit pulp water and ethanol extracts obtained at various temperatures, as well as their feasibility to inhibit selected pathogenic bacteria strains and biofilm formation. The extracts showed a significant content of vitamin C that increased from 11 to 17 mg/100 mL when temperatures rose to 75–90 °C. Antioxidant capacity by DPPH• and ABTS•⁺ also increased with extraction temperature (75–90 °C), and phenolic compounds correspondingly depicted maximum values of 8.0 and 11.2 mg GAE/100 mL at the same temperatures. The higher values of bioactive compounds and antioxidant capacity at high extraction temperatures was possibly due to the disruption of cell walls and membranes at these temperatures that allowed for the release of bioactive compounds. Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy bands indicated that the aqueous extracts of nance pulp contained a combination of hydroxyl, amide, and methylene functional groups, demonstrating the coexistence of phenolic compounds, amino acids, and lipids, which supported the presence of molecules with potential biological activity. Inhibition of microbial growth by aqueous extracts obtained at 20 °C was observed against S. aureus and P. aeruginosa, and none of the extracts prevented biofilm formation against S. aureus.

Nance fruit is considered an important source of antioxidants and is used as a raw material to produce various edible products including liqueur. This fruit is grown in various locations worldwide, and its use to prepare different products needs to be further developed. Nance pulp and liqueur were analyzed by evaluating their physicochemical characteristics, bioactive compounds, and antioxidant capacities during 90 days of storage. Ascorbic acid and antioxidant capacities decreased at higher rates than pulp as per their kinetic constants and half-life times (t_1/2 was shorter for liqueur than for pulp). Fourier Transform Infrared Spectroscopy (FTIR) allowed us to register the characteristic fingerprints from bonds from diverse functional groups and demonstrated that liqueur preserved, at a higher extent, the bioactive compounds of pulp. Phenolic compounds in both samples decayed over time, suggesting that, during storage, they release due to the breakage of cell walls. Infrared spectra showed considerable overlapping, presenting characteristic alcohol and functional group peaks distinctive of bioactive compounds and polysaccharides. At the end of their storage, both samples presented peaks of less intensity than those for the initial samples, which was in agreement with the bioactive compound content and antioxidant capacity kinetics. Bioactive profiles and kinetic parameters would be useful for establishing the processing and storage conditions of nance liqueur and could support the development of local communities.

Nanoencapsulation of bioactive compounds represents a viable alternative to preserve the stability of a wide variety of active substances. Currently, there is vast scientific evidence of the outstanding antioxidant capacity of α-lipoic Acid (ALA), including its interaction with α-tocopherol (vitamin E) and ascorbic acid (vitamin C) to take advantage of synergic effects amongst these compounds. It has been established that the combination of ALA/vitamin E/vitamin C may be beneficial to limit pathological processes in which there is excessive production of reactive oxygen species in the mechanisms of initiation and progression of cell damage, giving rise to diseases such as diabetic neuropathy, Alzheimer’s disease, rheumatoid arthritis, lupus erythematosus as well as other and cardiac ischemia to name a few. On the other hand, triple antioxidant therapy (ALA/vitamin E/vitamin C) in diabetic volunteers has been shown to attenuate oxidative stress. This chapter discusses how chitosan nanoparticles can be formed by using two polyanions (sodium pyrophosphate (SPP) and sodium tripolyphosphate (TPP), incorporating ALA, Vitamin E and Vitamin C, and taking advantage of their synergistic effect, as a strategy to enhance the therapeutic effects of this system. <!----> <!----> <!----> <!---->