Author(s)

Zanariah Binti Ujang, Thavamanithevi Subramaniam, Mazita Md Diah, Harmayumi Binti Wahid, Badariah Binti Abdullah, Ahmad Hazri Bin Abd Rashid, David Appleton

3Department of Pharmacology, Faculty of Medicine, University of Malaya, Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia; Sime Darby Technology Centre Sdn. Bhd., UPM-MTDC Technology Centre III, Universiti Putra Malaysia, Serdang, Malaysia..
Industrial Biotechnol- ogy Research Centre, SIRIM Bhd. No. 1, Persiaran Dato Menteri, Shah Alam, Malaysia;.
Natural Product and Cosmetics Program, SIRIM Bhd. No. 1, Persiaran Dato Menteri, Shah Alam, Malaysia;.

Crude extracts of Alpinia conchigera a species from the Malaysian Ginger (Zingiberaceae) family and its fractions obtained from various extraction methods were assayed for melanogenesis inhibition activity and cell viability. The crude extract obtained from the ethanolic extraction and the super critical fluid extraction did not exhibit significant melanin inhibition activity and was shown to be toxic to the melanocyte cells in comparison to the water extract. The crude aqueous extracts displayed melanin inhibition of 96.38 ± 1.60% and cell viability 109.90 ± 8.32% at a concentration of 500 μg/mL. Bioassay guided fractionation was performed on the water extracts to isolate the active compounds. The actives were identified as trans-cinnamaldehyde and chavicol glucopyranoside with both compound showing potent anti-melanogenesis activity. At 4.9 μg/ml, both trans-cinnamaldehyde and chavicol glucopyranoside gave 85% inhibition of melanin formation in vitro with 77% and 97% cell viability respectively. In comparison, kojic acid, a known skin lightening agent showed 90.0% inhibition at 100 μg/mL. The bioactive composition comprising the extract, active fraction, purified compounds or mixture thereof of Alpinia conchigera may be used for cosmetic and pharmaceutical applications, particularly for the purposes of reducing skin pigmentation.

Alpinia Conchigera; Preparatory HPLC Fractionation; Chavicol Glucopyranoside; Trans Cinnamaldehyde; Anti-Melanogenesis Activity

Z. Ujang, T. Subramaniam, M. Diah, H. Wahid, B. Abdullah, A. Rashid and D. Appleton, "Bioguided Fractionation and Purification of Natural Bioactives Obtained fromAlpinia conchigera Water Extract with Melanin Inhibition Activity," Journal of Biomaterials and Nanobiotechnology, Vol. 4 No. 3, 2013, pp. 265-272. doi: 10.4236/jbnb.2013.43033.