Abstract
Arbutin (p-hydroxyphenyl-β-D-glucopyranoside), a well-known tyrosinase inhibitor, has been widely used as a cosmetic whitening agent. Although its natural role is to scavenge free radicals within cells, it has also exhibited useful activities for the treatment of diuresis, bacterial infections and cancer, as well as anti-inflammatory and anti-tussive activities. Because function of free radical scavenging is also related to antioxidant and the effects of arbutin on longevity and stress resistance in animals have not yet been confirmed, here the effects of arbutin on Caenorhabditis elegans were investigated. The results demonstrated that optimal concentrations of arbutin could extend lifespan and enhance resistance to oxidative stress. The underlying molecular mechanism for these effects involves decreased levels of reactive oxygen species (ROS), improvement of daf-16 nuclear localization, and up-regulated expression of daf-16 and its downstream targets, including sod-3 and hsp16.2. In this work the roles of arbutin in lifespan and health are studied and the results support that arbutin is an antioxidant for maintaining overall health.
Highlights
Tannins, known as plant polyphenols, comprise the most common category of secondary metabolites and are present in all vegetative organs of flowering plants (Scalbert et al, 2005)
We investigated the effects of arbutin on C. elegans longevity and stress resistance and evaluated the signaling pathways involved
The survival rate of animals pretreated with 5 mM arbutin from birth to 120 h of age had significantly increased relative to the control under 35 ◦C stress
Summary
Known as plant polyphenols, comprise the most common category of secondary metabolites and are present in all vegetative organs of flowering plants (Scalbert et al, 2005). Arbutin (C12H16O7), a plant polyphenol with a simple molecular structure, is widely distributed in animals, plants and microbes. It exhibits an acicular crystal habit and can be processed into a white or grey powder. Arbutin can dissolve in methyl alcohol, ethyl alcohol, acetonitrile and tetrahydrofuran, but it is insoluble in solvents such as cyclohexane, diethyl ether, chloroform, petroleum and DMSO. It is unstable and hydrolyzed in an acid environment, but it has been successfully isolated using plant extraction techniques, biological transformation, organic synthesis and enzymatic synthesis methods (Seo et al, 2012). The latter group inhibits melanin synthase to lighten hair and it is the reason that arbutin was widely used in the cosmetic hairdressing
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