Marine and Agro-Industrial By-Products Valorization Intended for Topical Formulations in Wound Healing Applications

Over the past years, research attention has been focusing more on waste-derived, naturallyderived, and renewable materials, in the view of a more sustainable economy. In this work, differenttopical formulations were obtained from the valorization of marine and agro-industrial by-productsand the use of Carbopol 940 as gelling agent. In particular, the combination of extracts obtainedfrom the marine snail, Rapanosa venosa, with Cladophora vagabunda and grape pomace extracts, wasinvestigated for wound healing purposes. Rapana venosa has demonstrated wound healing propertiesand antioxidant activity. Similarly, grape pomace extracts have been shown to accelerate the healingprocess. However, their synergic use has not been explored yet. To this aim, four different formulationswere produced. Three formulations differed for the presence of a different extract of Rapanavenosa: marine collagen, marine gelatin, and collagen hydrolysate, while another formulation usedmammalian gelatin as further control. Physico-chemical properties of the extracts as well as of theformulations were analyzed. Furthermore, thermal stability was evaluated by thermogravimetricanalysis. Antioxidant capacity and biological behavior, in terms of cytocompatibility, wound healing,and antimicrobial potential, were assessed. The results highlighted for all the formulations (i) a goodconservation and thermal stability in time, (ii) a neutralizing activity against free radicals, (iii) andhigh degree of cytocompatibility and tissue regeneration potential. In particular, collagen, gelatin, andcollagen hydrolysate obtained from the Rapana venosa marine snail represent an important, valuablealternative to mammalian products.