Anti-Oxidant Property and Inhibition of Melanin Synthesis of Eight Plant Extracts

Plants extracts are good resources to find functional compounds for human health. The following eight plants were collected and total phenolic contents were determined. Acer psedo-siebolianum showed the highest phenolic contents, 16.4 mg/g, whereas Cercidiphyllum japonica showed the lowest contents, 1.9 mg/g. The DPPH free radical scavenging capacities of the plant extracts showed high activity in following order : Acer ginnala (21.3 ㎍/mL) greater than Cornus walteri (23.9 ㎍/mL) greater than Distylum racemosum (29.2 ㎍/mL) greater than Castanopsis cuspidata var. Thunbergii (31.7 ㎍/mL) greater than Acer psedo-siebolianum (34.6 ㎍/mL) greater than Thuijopsis dolabrata cv. Aurea (53.1 ㎍/mL) greater than Cercidiphyllum Japonica (115.2 ㎍/mL). Also the mushroom tyrosinase inhibitory activities of total extracts were determined at different concentration. D. racemosum extract showed highest (49.1% at 1,000 mg) in inhibitory activity than other seven extracts. The ethanol fraction (IC∧50 value: 118.1 ㎍/mL) from D. racemosum showed more inhibitory activity than ethyl acetate fraction (IC∧50 value: 203 ㎍/mL). The ethanol fraction on showed no significant cytotoxicity in B16/F1 cells line up to 60 ㎍/mL. Over 80 ㎍/mL of ethanol fraction showed cytotoxicity in B16/F1 cells. The melanin contents of cells were significantly attenuated by ethanol fraction in a dose-dependent manner. The IC∧50 value of ethanol fraction was 75.4 ㎍/mL.