The Development of Antioxidant and Sunscreen Emulgel Containing Cocoa Pod Husk Extract (Theobroma cacao L)

Abstract

Abstract Background: Cocoa pod husk is a waste chocolate processing that has not been widely used. Previous research has shown that cocoa pod husk contains polyphenol and flavonoid compounds so the it potential to have antioxidant and photoprotective activities. Objective: The study was conducted to determine the antioxidant and sunscreen activities of the cocoa pod husk extract and to develop the extract into an emulgel with good physical properties and stability. Methods: The extraction process was conducted by maceration using 70% ethanol. The antioxidant activity test was performed using the DPPH (1,1-diphenyl-2-picryl-hydrazyl) method and the sunscreen activity test was conducted using the spectrophotometric-based Mansur method. Emulgel preparations are made using olive oil as the oil phase, sodium lauryl sulfate and ceto stearyl alcohol as the surfactant, and viscolam mac 10 as the gelling agent. Results: The results showed that the cocoa pod husk extract has a very strong antioxidant activity indicated by an IC50 value of 16.74 ± 0.72 ppm and also had sunscreen activity with an SPF value of 10.78 ± 0.85 (1000 ppm). The emulgel preparation with 2% of extract has good physical characteristics based on organoleptic, pH, homogeneity, spreadability, viscosity, and rheology tests. The preparation was also stable based on freeze-thaw and centrifugation tests. Conclusion: The cocoa pod husk extract showed very strong antioxidant activity and also has sunscreen activity. It can be developed into an emulgel preparation with good physical characteristics and stability. Keywords: cocoa pod husk, sunscreen, antioxidant, emulgel