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Hydrolysis of arbutin to hydroquinone by human skin bacteria and its effect on antioxidant activity
Author(s) -
Bang SeoHyun,
Han SangJun,
Kim DongHyun
Publication year - 2008
Publication title -
journal of cosmetic dermatology
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 0.626
H-Index - 44
eISSN - 1473-2165
pISSN - 1473-2130
DOI - 10.1111/j.1473-2165.2008.00387.x
Subject(s) - arbutin , hydroquinone , chemistry , antioxidant , hydrolysis , food science , pharmacology , biochemistry , medicine
Summary Arbutin, the β‐ d ‐glucopyranoside of hydroquinone, is a skin whitening cosmetic ingredient. Compared with arbutin, hydroquinone is a more potent skin lightening agent, but shows cytotoxicity, nephrotoxicity, and genotoxicity. To evaluate whether skin microflora can hydrolyze arbutin to hydroquinone, we measured the hydrolytic activity of the main skin microflora: Staphylococcus epidermidis and Staphylococcus aureus . All strains hydrolyzed arbutin, with activities of 0.16–4.51 nmol/min/mg. The hydrolyzed hydroquinone showed more potent 1,1‐diphenyl‐2‐picrylhydrazyl radical scavenging activity and tyrosinase inhibition than arbutin. These findings suggest that normal skin microflora may increase the skin lightening effect of arbutin due to the antioxidant action of hydroquinone.