O mercado de cosméticos é altamente dinâmico, com o lançamento de novos produtos em velocidade acelerada. Nos últimos anos, novos conceitos também foram surgindo, como é o caso dos cosmecêuticos e, mais recentemente, dos nutricosméticos. A presente pesquisa teve como objetivo explorar o conceito dos nutricosméticos e, por meio de uma pesquisa exploratória, torna-se evidente que os mesmos são apresentados como a última tendência da indústria da beleza. Eles são o resultado da convergência entre as indústrias de cosméticos e alimentos, e são caracterizados pela ingestão de alimentos ou suplementos com o propósito de melhorar aspectos estéticos da pele e apêndices (antirrugas, antiacne, anticelulite, entre outros). São conhecidos como pílulas da beleza, cosméticos orais ou nutracêuticos cosméticos, cujo destaque é a beleza de dentro para fora. O principal apelo é o efeito antienvelhecimento, reduzindo a formação de rugas por combaterem os radicais livres. Verifica-se que a comunidade científica tem se esforçado em apresentar esclarecimentos e comprovações sobre os efeitos dos produtos com este conceito. Outra parte da pesquisa objetivou contribuir para o estudo do comportamento do consumidor, por meio de um survey, apresentando análises que buscam pontos comuns entre a fundamentação teórica e os dados resultantes relacionados a fatores que influenciam no planejamento e ação de compra dos consumidores. As respostas do questionário aplicado em uma amostra de pessoas do campus da USP de Ribeirão Preto, São Paulo, mostraram que 26% dos entrevistados conheciam previamente o termo nutricosmético, e apenas 20% relataram o uso. Verificou-se que existe uma grande parcela de consumidores que tem interesse em usar tais produtos, e a quase unanimidade dos entrevistados acreditam nos benefícios dos nutrientes ingeridos no dia a dia como impactantes na saúde e na beleza, o que justifica uma atitude favorável em relação a esses produtos. O caráter multidisciplinar desta pesquisa apresenta uma visão geral do conceito de nutricosméticos, representando uma grande contribuição para a literatura técnico científica do setor de cosméticos. / The market of cosmetics is highly dynamic and new product launches happen at a fast rate. Over the last years, new concepts have also been rising, as in the case of cosmeceuticals and more recently, nutricosmetics. This study aimed to explore the concept of nutricosmetics and, through exploratory research, it becomes evident that they are presented as the latest trend in the beauty industry. They are the result of the convergence of cosmeceuticals and nutraceuticals, characterized as oral supplementation of nutrients formulated and marketed specifically for beauty purposes (anti-wrinkles, anti-acne, anti-cellulite, among others). Nutricosmetics are also known as beauty pills, nutraceutical cosmetics, oral cosmetics, highlighting the beauty from within concept. The major claim is the anti-aging effect, reducing wrinkles by fighting free radicals generated by solar radiation. The scientific community has made efforts to clarify and to prove the effects of products with the nutricosmetic concept. The second part of this research aimed to contribute to the consumer behavior study, through a survey, showing analyses with common point between theoretical basis and data from factors influencing consumer behavior. The answers of the questionnaire applied to a sample of USP, campus of Ribeirão Preto, showed that 26% of respondents knew the term nutricosmetics previously, and only 20% reported the use. It was found that there is a large portion of consumers who are interested in using such products, and a significant portion believe in the benefits of nutrient intake on a daily basis as impacting on health and beauty, which justifies a positive attitude to these products. The multidisciplinary character of this research presents a favorable attitude regarding nutricosmetics, showing a great contribution to technical scientific literature in the cosmetic sector.

O mercado de cosméticos é altamente dinâmico, com o lançamento de novos produtos em velocidade acelerada. Nos últimos anos, novos conceitos também foram surgindo, como é o caso dos cosmecêuticos e, mais recentemente, dos nutricosméticos. A presente pesquisa teve como objetivo explorar o conceito dos nutricosméticos e, por meio de uma pesquisa exploratória, torna-se evidente que os mesmos são apresentados como a última tendência da indústria da beleza. Eles são o resultado da convergência entre as indústrias de cosméticos e alimentos, e são caracterizados pela ingestão de alimentos ou suplementos com o propósito de melhorar aspectos estéticos da pele e apêndices (antirrugas, antiacne, anticelulite, entre outros). São conhecidos como pílulas da beleza, cosméticos orais ou nutracêuticos cosméticos, cujo destaque é a beleza de dentro para fora. O principal apelo é o efeito antienvelhecimento, reduzindo a formação de rugas por combaterem os radicais livres. Verifica-se que a comunidade científica tem se esforçado em apresentar esclarecimentos e comprovações sobre os efeitos dos produtos com este conceito. Outra parte da pesquisa objetivou contribuir para o estudo do comportamento do consumidor, por meio de um survey, apresentando análises que buscam pontos comuns entre a fundamentação teórica e os dados resultantes relacionados a fatores que influenciam no planejamento e ação de compra dos consumidores. As respostas do questionário aplicado em uma amostra de pessoas do campus da USP de Ribeirão Preto, São Paulo, mostraram que 26% dos entrevistados conheciam previamente o termo nutricosmético, e apenas 20% relataram o uso. Verificou-se que existe uma grande parcela de consumidores que tem interesse em usar tais produtos, e a quase unanimidade dos entrevistados acreditam nos benefícios dos nutrientes ingeridos no dia a dia como impactantes na saúde e na beleza, o que justifica uma atitude favorável em relação a esses produtos. O caráter multidisciplinar desta pesquisa apresenta uma visão geral do conceito de nutricosméticos, representando uma grande contribuição para a literatura técnico científica do setor de cosméticos. / The market of cosmetics is highly dynamic and new product launches happen at a fast rate. Over the last years, new concepts have also been rising, as in the case of cosmeceuticals and more recently, nutricosmetics. This study aimed to explore the concept of nutricosmetics and, through exploratory research, it becomes evident that they are presented as the latest trend in the beauty industry. They are the result of the convergence of cosmeceuticals and nutraceuticals, characterized as oral supplementation of nutrients formulated and marketed specifically for beauty purposes (anti-wrinkles, anti-acne, anti-cellulite, among others). Nutricosmetics are also known as beauty pills, nutraceutical cosmetics, oral cosmetics, highlighting the beauty from within concept. The major claim is the anti-aging effect, reducing wrinkles by fighting free radicals generated by solar radiation. The scientific community has made efforts to clarify and to prove the effects of products with the nutricosmetic concept. The second part of this research aimed to contribute to the consumer behavior study, through a survey, showing analyses with common point between theoretical basis and data from factors influencing consumer behavior. The answers of the questionnaire applied to a sample of USP, campus of Ribeirão Preto, showed that 26% of respondents knew the term nutricosmetics previously, and only 20% reported the use. It was found that there is a large portion of consumers who are interested in using such products, and a significant portion believe in the benefits of nutrient intake on a daily basis as impacting on health and beauty, which justifies a positive attitude to these products. The multidisciplinary character of this research presents a favorable attitude regarding nutricosmetics, showing a great contribution to technical scientific literature in the cosmetic sector.

A pre-eminent emulsion-based micellar drug delivery system, "microemulsion", comprising drug in oil or water phase, stabilized by surfactants and co-surfactants, has been evidenced to have a phenomenal role in a number of applications. Oils play an important role in the formation of ME and increase the drug absorption at the site of action. Oils employed in microemulsion formulation solubilize lipophilic drug. As the concept of "natural" therapies is recently gaining importance amongst researchers all over the world, scientists are employing essential oil as an organic component in this system. The active components of essential oils include flavonoids, phenylpropanoids, monoterpenes and polyunsaturated mega-6-fatty acids. These oils are enriched with characteristic intrinsic properties such as anti-oxidant, anti-bacterial, anti-viral, etc., bestowing enhanced supremacy to the whole microemulsion system. This mini-review is the first to document various types of essential oils employed in microemulsion systems and highlight their therapeutic potential and applications as drug delivery vehicles. Key inferences from this study suggest: 1) Clove oil is the most explored oil for incorporation into a microemulsion based system, followed by peppermint and Tea Tree Oil (TTO). 2) Penetration enhancing effects of these oils are due to the presence of terpenic constituents. 3) Essential oil based microemulsions protect volatility of ethereal oils and protect them from degradation in the presence of light, air, temperature. 4) These systems may also be explored for their applications in different industries like aromatherapy, food, drink, fragrance, flavour, cosmeceutical, soap, petroleum and pharmaceutical industry.

For evaluation of potential skincare ingredients, an in-house method using Static Franz diffusion cells and dialysis membranes was developed. Benzoic acid was chosen as a model substance along with L-ascorbic acid and α-Tocopherol. The cell conditions were tailored to encourage transmembrane diffusion. Benzoic acid was tested in acetate buffer (pH 4.6), which yielded a maximum flux of 0.91 ± 0.03 mg ∙ cm-2 ∙ h-1 and absorption of 103 ± 4 % out of the applied dose after 8 h. There were strong indications that benzoic acid ionization must be suppressed by lower pH to increase penetration rates. L-ascorbic acid yielded a flux of 0.29 ± 0.01 mg ∙ cm-2 ∙ h-1 in phosphate buffered saline (PBS, pH 7.4) and absorption of 87 ± 7 % of the applied dose after 8 h. Experiments with α-tocopherol showed no penetration in PBS with added bovine serum albumin (BSA), leading to the hypothesis that more hydrophobic membranes and/or receptor medium are needed for the study of lipophilic compounds. In addition, the release of benzoic acid from the amorphous mesoporous magnesium carbonate Upsalite® was investigated. The results showed significant release and penetration of benzoic acid from the solid matrix in both acetate buffer and PBS. The maximum flux was estimated to 6.61 ± 0.96 mg ∙ cm-2 ∙ h-1 in acetate buffer and 99 ± 9 %  of the applied dose was absorbed after 3h. Tests of Upsalite with benzoic acid on hydrophobic silicone and Strat-M membranes showed no significant penetration, likely due to insufficient wetting of the sample. Pre-wetting of Strat-M membrane lead to penetration of benzoic acid into the membrane. Flux rates achieved on synthetic membranes are generally much higher compared to skin, which results in this thesis show. In conclusion, data for pure benzoic acid and L-ascorbic acid in the developed method using dialysis membranes showed reasonable agreement with literature. Penetration of benzoic acid is pH-dependent and may be either increased or decreased by choice of skin model or by using Upsalite as vehicle. Choosing a buffer pH below the pKa of the substance may enhance penetration. Introducing L-ascorbic acid in Upsalite could potentially increase the permeation, similar to that of benzoic acid.