Topical formulations contained an extract from marine alga Cladophora glomerata

The Cladophora glomerata is a green alga abundant in fresh and seawater. The extraction of C. glomerata using glycol-based solvents, including butylene glycol (BG), polyethylene glycol 400 (PEG 400), and propylene glycol (PG), as the green solvents to obtain antioxidants and nutrients that can be further used in health care and pharmaceutical applications. The extraction of C. glomerata with glycol-base solvents using the microwave-assisted extraction (MAE) method was optimized. The liquid extraction using 60 % volume by volume of polyethylene glycol yielded the highest total phenolic content (4.00 ± 0.08 mg gallic acid equivalence per g dry weight) and antioxidant activity (IC₅₀ 0.14 ± 0.02 mg/mL). The algal extract was stable at pH 6 to 8 and a temperature lower than 25 °C. After incorporating the algal extract in topical formulations including serum and emulgel, we found that the preparations were stable and retained the extract's antioxidant activity. In addition, all algal extracts, extract-loaded serum, and emulgel did not show cytotoxicity effects in normal adult human dermal fibroblasts.