Background: We investigated the antioxidant, anti-wrinkles, whitening, and moisturizing properties and amounts of phenolic compounds of ethanol extracts from flowers of 10 resource plants from Namwon and Mt. Jiri., Korea.<BR>Methods and Results: We measured antioxidant efficacy based on the total polyphenol, and total flavonoid content, and the 2,2-diphenyl-1-picrylhydrazyl (DPPH) assay. We evaluated the inhibitory effect on melanin synthesis and tyrosinase activity for the whitening effect. Furthermore, we analyzed the elastase and matrix metalloproteinase-1 (MMP-1) inhibition activity for anti-wrinkle capacity. To evaluate the moisturizing effect, we examined hyaluronan synthase (HAS) mRNA expression. In addition, the 19 phenolic compounds were detected using high performace liquid chromatography (HPLC). Among the 10 flowers, the antioxidant effect was high in the order of Rosa multiflora, Nelumbo nucifera, and Elsholtzia splendens. Whitening effect was high in the order of N. nucifera, R. multiflora, and Dendranthema zawadskii. As for the anti-wrinkle property, N. nucifera was the most effective followed by R. multiflora. Taraxacum coreanum was the best for moisturizing effect, followed by D. zawadskii, and E. splendens. Seven phenolic compounds were detected in the extracts of the 10 flowers.<BR>Conclusions: Overall, the extracts of five flowers extracts showed strong potential as antioxidant, whitening, anti-wrinkle, and moisturizing functional cosmetic agents.
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