## 3 Results
### Texture Analysis Parameters
Young's modulus is a criterion of a specimen's \"rigidity\" (mechanical responsiveness)--the capacity of a specimen to recover its initial conformation after distortion--and represents the amount of and distance between elastic segments [68]. As a result of the analysis, the values of Young's modulus (YM) and the stress and strain at failure of the sample were obtained. The tensile strength and Young's modulus are presented in Figure 6.  
MC-based formulations showed the highest tensile strength: about 1.4-fold higher than the CMC-based hydrogel and about 1.5-fold higher than the SA-based formulation. In addition, a higher concentration of quercetin further increased the strength of the MC-containing hydrogel (by about 1.1-fold). In contrast, in CMC- and ALG-based formulations, the higher concentration slightly reduced the physical resistance of the formulation. The high tensile strength of the MC hydrogels showed consistency with the viscosity of these formulations, as the viscosity of MC-based hydrogels was the highest, and in turn, the higher concentration of quercetin gave this formulation the best adhesion. As a result, the F-MB formulation may be the most favorable in terms of adhesion to the skin, allowing the active ingredient to stay in contact with the skin for a longer period of time and act longer. \begin{table}
\begin{tabular}{c c c c} \hline \hline
**Formulation Code** & **Hardness (N)** & **Cohesiveness** & **Adhesiveness (mJ)** & **Elasticity** \\ \hline
**F-AA** & 0.0520 \(\pm\) 0.001 & 2.316 \(\pm\) 0.054 a & 0.150 \(\pm\) 0.050 & 0.649 \(\pm\) 0.008 a  \\ \hline
**F-AA** & 0.0505 \(\pm\) 0.002 & 2.698 \(\pm\) 0.073 & 0.150 \(\pm\) 0.050 & 0.583 \(\pm\) 0.012 \\ \hline
**F-AB** & 0.0545 \(\pm\) 0.001 b  \\ \hline
**F-CB** & 0.0645 \(\pm\) 0.003 & 1.306 \(\pm\) 0.025 b  \\ \hline
**F-MB** & 0.0640 \(\pm\) 0.003 & 2.157 \(\pm\) 0.140 & 0.250 \(\pm\) 0.050 & 0.580 \(\pm\) 0.027 \\ \hline \hline \end{tabular}  
* \(p\leq\) 0.05 as compared to F-MA; b \(p\leq\) 0.05 as compared to F-MB. F-AA (SA; quercetin 0.4%), F-AB (SA; quercetin 0.7%), F-CA (CMC, quercetin 0.7%), F-CB (CMC, quercetin 0.7%), F-MB, respectively, while those based on SA were about 1.2 times lower (0.0545 \(\pm\) 0.001). In all formulations, increasing the concentration of quercetin resulted in an increase in hardness, to the greatest extent for MC--about 1.3 times. The formulation containing CMC also showed the highest elasticity: 0.868 \(\pm\) 0.065 (lower quercetin concentration) and 0.816 \(\pm\) 0.034 (higher quercetin concentration). Meanwhile, the formulation containing MC showed the lowest elasticity. In this formulation, quercetin concentration did not affect the change in elasticity.  
\end{table} 
Table 5: Texture profile analysis comparing hardness, cohesiveness, adhesion, and elasticity for the obtained hydrogels containing different polymers (SA, MC, and CMC) and loaded with quercetin at two different concentrations; \(n=6\). In the formulations prepared, the greatest Young's modulus was noticed for MC as the hydrogel-forming polymer; the lowest Young's modulus was noticed for SA, and it was slightly higher for CMC. Increasing the concentration of quercetin increased the modulus of stiffness for MC, while the other hydrogels--with ALG and CMC--conversely decreased the Young's modulus. The MC-based hydrogel showed the highest tensile strength and the highest stiffness. Increasing the concentration of quercetin further favorably affected the strength parameters of the MC-based hydrogel.