Cashew nut shell liquid (CNSL): composition, bioactive properties and applications in drug delivery systems

Autores

  • Camilly Fernandes de Oliveira
  • Victor Reinaldo de Oliveira
  • Isabella Pacheco Pinto
  • Rebeca Natanaely de Paiva Alcântara
  • Louhana Moreira Rebouças

DOI:

https://doi.org/10.34188/bjaerv9n2-153

Palavras-chave:

cashew nut shell liquid, CNSL, anacardic acid, cardol, cardanol, drug delivery, nanomaterials

Resumo

Cashew nut shell liquid (CNSL) is a renewable raw material obtained as an agro-industrial by-product of cashew nut processing. Its composition is dominated by phenolic lipids, especially anacardic acid, cardol, cardanol and 2-methylcardol, whose proportion depends on the extraction method and thermal processing. This review critically organizes the recent literature on the chemical composition, physicochemical properties, bioactivities and biomedical applications of CNSL and its main constituents, with emphasis on drug delivery systems, nanostructures, microcapsules, hydrogels and hybrid platforms. The literature indicates that anacardic acid presents antimicrobial, antibiofilm, anti-inflammatory, antioxidant and potential anticancer activities, while cardol and cardanol stand out as renewable chemical building blocks for polymeric materials, surfactants, nanomaterials and functional systems. Despite the potential, there are still limitations related to composition standardization, constituent purity, scalability, toxicity, biocompatibility and preclinical validation. Thus, CNSL constitutes a promising platform for green chemistry, waste valorization and biomaterial development.

Referências

ANJUM, M. M. et al. Anacardic acid encapsulated solid lipid nanoparticles for Staphylococcus aureus biofilm therapy: chitosan and DNase coating improves antimicrobial activity. Drug Delivery and Translational Research, v. 11, n. 1, p. 305-317, 2021. DOI: 10.1007/s13346-020-00795-4.

ASHRAF, S. M.; RATHINASAMY, K. Antibacterial and anticancer activity of the purified cashew nut shell liquid: implications in cancer chemotherapy and wound healing. Natural Product Research, v. 32, n. 23, p. 2856-2860, 2018. DOI: 10.1080/14786419.2017.1385017.

BEZERRA, J. M. T. et al. Cardol-silver nanoparticles as selective antileishmanial agents. Acta Tropica, v. 228, 106341, 2022. DOI: 10.1016/j.actatropica.2022.106341.

BLOISE, E. et al. Advances in nanomaterials based on cashew nut shell liquid. Nanomaterials, v. 13, n. 17, 2486, 2023. DOI: 10.3390/nano13172486.

CAILLOL, S. Cardanol: a promising building block for biobased polymers and additives. Current Opinion in Green and Sustainable Chemistry, v. 14, p. 26-32, 2018. DOI: 10.1016/j.cogsc.2018.05.002.

CHATTERJEE, S.; MOHANTY, S.; NAYAK, S. K. Extraction of a cardanol based liquid bio-fuel from waste natural resource and its characterization. Renewable and Sustainable Energy Reviews, v. 72, p. 557-564, 2017. DOI: 10.1016/j.rser.2017.01.099.

CORREIA, S. J.; DAVID, J. P.; DAVID, J. M. Metabólitos secundários de espécies de Anacardiaceae. Química Nova, v. 29, n. 6, p. 1287-1300, 2006. DOI: 10.1590/S0100-40422006000600026.

DE ARAUJO, J. S. F. et al. Zeyn-anacardic acid nanoparticles: antimicrobial and antifungal activity against Candida spp., including C. auris. Journal of Nanobiotechnology, v. 19, n. 1, p. 1-15, 2021.

KALA, S. N. et al. Nanoemulsion of cashew nut shell liquid as larvicidal agent against Anopheles culicifacies. Parasitology Research, v. 118, p. 1847-1855, 2019.

KUSHWAH, V. et al. Anacardic acid-docetaxel-gemcitabine albumin nanoparticles for synergistic breast cancer therapy. Drug Delivery and Translational Research, v. 8, n. 4, p. 1052-1065, 2018.

KYEI, S. K. et al. A comprehensive review on waste valorization of cashew nutshell liquid: sustainable development and industrial applications. Cleaner Waste Systems, v. 6, 100116, 2023. DOI: 10.1016/j.clwas.2023.100116.

LEGUT, M. et al. Anacardic acid enhances the anticancer activity of liposomal mitoxantrone towards melanoma cell lines: in vitro studies. International Journal of Nanomedicine, v. 9, p. 653-668, 2014. DOI: 10.2147/IJN.S55983.

LIMA, E. et al. Zeyna-anacardic acid nanoparticles: preparation, characterization and antifungal activity. Materials Science and Engineering: C, v. 106, 110259, 2020.

MAZZETTO, S. E.; LOMONACO, D.; MELE, G. Óleo da castanha de caju: oportunidades e desafios no contexto do desenvolvimento e sustentabilidade industrial. Química Nova, v. 32, n. 3, p. 732-741, 2009. DOI: 10.1590/S0100-40422009000300017.

MOORTHY, C. K. et al. CNSL green catalyst of sulfone-based Schiff base ligand and its metal(II) complexes: antibacterial, anticancer and molecular docking studies. Results in Chemistry, v. 14, 102131, 2025.

MOTA, C. D. et al. Efeito da aplicação do ácido anacárdico na terapia endodôntica como agente irrigador e removedor da smear layer: uma análise em MEV. Facit Business and Technology Journal, v. 2, n. 62, 2025.

NAZ, R. et al. Amelioration of rheumatoid arthritis by Anacardium occidentale via inhibition of collagenase and lysosomal enzymes. Evidence-Based Complementary and Alternative Medicine, v. 2020, artigo 8868444, 2020. DOI: 10.1155/2020/8868444.

OLIVEIRA, M. S. C. et al. Antioxidant, larvicidal and antiacetylcholinesterase activities of cashew nut shell liquid constituents. Acta Tropica, v. 117, n. 3, p. 165-170, 2011. DOI: 10.1016/j.actatropica.2010.08.003.

PARAMASHIVAPPA, R. et al. Novel method for isolation of major phenolic constituents from cashew (Anacardium occidentale L.) nut shell liquid. Journal of Agricultural and Food Chemistry, v. 49, n. 5, p. 2548-2551, 2001. DOI: 10.1021/jf001222j.

PORTO, K. R. A. et al. Atividade inseticida do líquido da castanha de caju sobre larvas de Aedes aegypti (Linnaeus, 1762) (Diptera: Culicidae). Revista Brasileira de Biociências, v. 11, n. 4, p. 419-422, 2013.

ROJTMAN, E. et al. Polyols from cashew nut shell liquid (CNSL): corner-stone building blocks for cutting-edge bio-based additives and polymers. Polymer Chemistry, v. 15, p. 4391-4426, 2024. DOI: 10.1039/D4PY00851K.

SHANMUGAM, M. K. et al. Anacardic acid inhibits pancreatic cancer through modification of the epigenome. Journal of Pharmacology and Experimental Therapeutics, v. 377, n. 1, p. 56-69, 2021.

SHELMA, R.; PAUL, W.; SHARMA, C. P. Chitin nanoparticulate system for oral delivery of insulin. Trends in Biomaterials and Artificial Organs, v. 24, n. 2, p. 116-120, 2010.

SOARES, V. D. M. et al. Pharmacological activities of the phenolic constituents from Anacardium occidentale (Anacardiaceae): a review. Revista Brasileira de Plantas Medicinais, v. 25, 2023.

VEERAMANOHARAN, A.; KIM, S.-C.; LEE, G. Application of cashew nut shell liquid as a green oilfield chemical: a state-of-the-art review. Materials Today Sustainability, v. 32, 101268, 2025. DOI: 10.1016/j.mtsust.2025.101268.

VIEN, L. T. et al. Anti-CD133 antibody-conjugated anacardic acid-liposomes for targeted cancer stem cell therapy. International Journal of Pharmaceutics, v. 627, 122221, 2022.

YULIANA, M. et al. A review on cashew nut shell liquid as a renewable source for bio-based chemicals. IOP Conference Series: Materials Science and Engineering, v. 1053, 012075, 2021. DOI: 10.1088/1757-899X/1053/1/012075

Downloads

Publicado

2026-05-20

Como Citar

Oliveira, C. F. de, Oliveira, V. R. de, Pinto, I. P., Alcântara, R. N. de P., & Rebouças, L. M. (2026). Cashew nut shell liquid (CNSL): composition, bioactive properties and applications in drug delivery systems. Brazilian Journal of Animal and Environmental Research, 9(2), e87205. https://doi.org/10.34188/bjaerv9n2-153

Edição

v. 9 n. 2 (2026)

Seção

Artigos originais

Licença

  • O conteúdo dos artigos é de responsabilidade exclusiva dos autores.
  •  É permitida a reprodução total ou parcial do conteúdo dos artigos, desde que citada a fonte.
  •  Artigos com plágio serão recusados, e o autor do plágio perderá o direito de publicar nesta revista.
  •  Os nomes e endereços informados nesta revista serão utilizados exclusivamente para os serviços prestados por esta publicação e não estão disponíveis para outros fins ou a terceiros.
  •  Depois de enviar os artigos, os autores cedem os direitos autorais de seus artigos ao BJAER. Se você se arrepender da submissão, o autor tem o direito de solicitar ao BJAER que não publique seu artigo. Porém, essa solicitação deve ocorrer até dois meses antes da divulgação do número que o artigo será publicado.
  •  O BJAER usa a licença Creative Commons CC BY. Informações sobre esta licença podem ser encontradas em: https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/3.0/br/

 

 

Brazilian Journal of Animal and Environmental Research (BJAER) se reserva o direito de efetuar nos originais alterações de ordem normativa, ortográfica e gramatical, com vistas a manter o padrão culto da língua, respeitando, porém, o estilo dos autores. Os trabalhos finais não serão enviadas aos autores.