Physiological and Whitening Effects of Morus alba Extracts

Abstract

Mulberry extracts can be incorporated into skin-whitening products. The compound attributed to lighten the skin is arbutin, a form of hydroquinone that inhibits melanin release by suppressing the tyrosinase enzyme. For the cosmetic applications, the physiological effects of mulberry (Morus alba) extracts were investigated. The water soluble fraction of mulberry contains higher amount of protein (16.28~4.47%) in contrast to fat (1.55~1.41%). In addition, the fraction abundantly contains succinic acid (972.4-275.8 mg/g) and phosphoric acid (1,628.4-121.9 mg/g) in different parts of mulberry. The free radical scavenging ability in water soluble fraction was found to display remarkable effects in comparison with methanol and ethyl acetate fraction. The ethyl acetate-soluble of root and leaf showed remarkable tyrosinase inhibition activity by IC 50 (<TEX>${\mu}g/ml$</TEX>). The anticancer activity of methanol fraction obtained from mulberry using human cancer cell lines showed growth inhibition effect (270.14 mg/ml in Calu-6 cells, 295.29 mg/ml in HCT-116, and 332.29 mg/ml in MCF-7 cells, respectively). Based on the results, Morus alba extracts include cosmetic ingredients with antioxidizing and whitening properties.