## 3 Results
### pH Determination  
The acidic character of the skin plays an important role in skin barrier regeneration and antimicrobial response [62; 63]. The pH of the skin is influenced by many factors of both exogenous origin (e.g., cosmetics, detergents, dermatological drugs) and endogenous origin (sweat composition, sebum secretion intensity, sex, age). However, maintaining an acidic pH is beneficial for the physiology of the epidermis and the skin microflora, and avoids damaging the lipid barrier and the integrity of the stratum corneum [64]. In the study, the lowest pH values determined for the MC-based formulations were 4.62 \(\pm\) 0.02 and 4.51 \(\pm\) 0.04 for F-MA and F-MB, respectively, while the highest values for CMC-based formulations were 6.40 \(\pm\) 0.01 and 6.39 \(\pm\) 0.01 for F-CA and F-CB, respectively (Table 3). The pH values determined for the formulations prepared ranged from 4.51 to 6.40, which corresponds to the physiological pH of the skin and indicates the formulations can be applied to the skin without causing irritation during application. \begin{table}
\begin{tabular}{c c c c c c} \hline \hline
**F-AA** & **F-CA** & **F-MA** & **F-AB** & **F-CB** & **F-MB** \\ \hline \multicolumn{6}{c}{**Color**} \\ \hline yellow & yellow & yellow & intensified yellow & intensified yellow & intensified yellow \\ \hline \multicolumn{6}{c}{**Consistency**} \\ \hline very gentle & very gentle & very gentle & very gentle & very gentle & soft semi-solid & soft semi-solid \\ semi-solid & semi-solid & semi-solid & semi-solid & soft semi-solid \\ \hline \multicolumn{6}{c}{**Homogeneity**} \\ \hline homogenous & homogenous & homogenous & homogenous & homogenous & homogenous & homogenous \\ \hline \multicolumn{6}{c}{**Adhesion**} \\ \hline picks up easily, does not flow, forms a & more difficult to pick up easily, does not flow, forms a persistent typical & picks up easily, does not flow, forms a persistent typical & more difficult to pick up no & picks up easily, does not flow, forms a persistent typical \\ cone on the fingertip & characteristic cone & cone on the fingertip & cone on the fingertip & characteristic cone & cone on the fingertip \\ \hline \multicolumn{6}{c}{**Stickiness (0–5)**} \\ \hline medium sticky sticky sticky & moderately sticky (1/5) & medium sticky (3/5) & Medium sticky (3/5) & not sticky (0/5) & medium sticky (3/5) \\ \hline \multicolumn{6}{c}{**Greasiness and greasing**} \\ \hline no oily film & no oily film & no oily film & no oily film & no oily film & no oily film \\ when applied & when applied & when applied & when applied & when applied \\ \hline \multicolumn{6}{c}{**Pilllow effect**} \\ \hline slight layer of & slight layer of & slight layer of & slight layer of & slight layer of & slight layer of \\ formula felt & formula felt & formula felt & formula felt & formula felt \\ on fingers & on fingers & on fingers & on fingers & on fingers \\ \hline \multicolumn{6}{c}{F-AA (SA; quercetin 0.4\%), F-AB (SA; quercetin 0.7\%), F-CA (CMC, quercetin 0.4\%), F-CB (CMC, quercetin 0.7\%), F-MA (MC, quercetin 0.7\%), F-MA (MC, quercetin 0.7\%).} \\ \end{tabular}
\end{table} 
Table 2: Results of the organoleptic tests of the quercetin formulations. \begin{table}
\begin{tabular}{c c c c} \hline \hline
**Formulation Code** & **Spreadability (mm2)** & **pH** \\ \hline F-AA & 304.70 \(\pm\) 6.80 c & 5.62 \(\pm\) 0.02 \\ \hline F-CA & 327.30 \(\pm\) 12.06 a & 6.40 \(\pm\) 0.01 \\ \hline F-MA & 273.76 \(\pm\) 3.15 d & 4.62 \(\pm\) 0.02 \\ \hline F-AB & 269.96 \(\pm\) 0.22 a,e & 5.60 \(\pm\) 0.02 \\ \hline F-CB & 295.50 \(\pm\) 5.93 b & 6.39 \(\pm\) 0.01 \\ \hline F-MB & 256.03 \(\pm\) 5.15 a,f & 4.51 \(\pm\) 0.04 \\ \hline \hline \end{tabular}  
* \(p\leq\) 0.05 as compared to F-AA, F-MA; b \(p\leq\) 0.05 as compared to F-AB, F-MB; c\(d\)\(p\leq\) 0.05 as compared to F-CA, e\(d\)\(p\leq\) 0.05 as compared to F-CB. F-AA (SA; quercetin 0.4\%), F-AB (SA; quercetin 0.7\%), F-CA (CMC, quercetin 0.7\%), F-CA (MC, quercetin 0.7\%), F-MA (MC, quercetin 0.4\%), F-MB (MC, quercetin 0.7\%).  
\end{table}