Twenty compounds were isolated from the ethanol extract of Distylium racemosum branches and their inhibitory activities on tyrosinase, elastase and free radicals evaluated. The isolated compounds were identified as dibenzofurans (1-4), abscisic acid (5), 6'-O-galloylsalidroside (6), catechin derivatives (7-11), gallic acid derivatives (12-14), tyrosol (15), flavonoids (16-18), lupeol (19) and 1,2,3,6-tetragalloylglucose (20). For study of tyrosinase inhibition activities, when compared with arbutin (IC(50) 48.8 μg/mL), four compounds (8, 11, 13, 17) showed higher activities, with IC(50) values of 4.8, 30.2, 40.5 and 37.7 μg/mL, respectively. For the elastase inhibition test, dibenzofuran 1 showed greater activity than the positive control, oleanolic acid (IC(50) 9.7 μg/mL), with an IC(50) of 7.7 μg/mL. In the studies on DPPH radical scavenging activities, five compounds (11, 12, 13, 14, 15) showed higher activities than ascorbic acid (IC(50) 5.0 μg/mL), with IC(50) values of 4.6, 3.9, 2.9, 3.8 and 4.7 μg/mL, respectively.

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This study was conducted to identify the anti-melanogenesis constituents from a seaweed Dictyota coriacea (Holmes). Three known compounds, viz. 1,9-dihydroxycrenulide (1), epiloliolide (2) and D-mannitol (3), were isolated from the ethanol extract. The melanin synthesis inhibition activities were evaluated using B16F10 melanoma cells for the isolates. Compared with the positive control, arbutin, compounds 1 and 2 exhibited more potency, showing 27.8 and 22.6 % inhibition activities at a substrate concentration of 30 μg/mL. Our studies also indicate that these compounds are not cytotoxic. Hence, they might prove to be useful therapeutic agents for treating hyperpigmentation and effective components of whitening cosmetics.

Bioassay-guided investigation of the stems of Maackia fauriei led to the isolation of seven flavonoid constituents, formononetin (1), genistein (2), daidzein (3), texasin (4), tectorigenin (5), odoratin (6) and mirkoin (7). Their structures were elucidated on the basis of spectral studies as well as by comparison with literature data. Tyrosinase inhibition activities were carried out on the isolated compounds. Among these, mirkoin (7) was identified as a potent tyrosinase inhibitor. It inhibited mushroom tyrosinase with an IC(50) value of 0.005 mm, which is ten times more active than kojic acid (IC(50) = 0.045 mm). The inhibition kinetics, analysed by Lineweaver-Burk plots, indicated mirkoin (7) to be a competitive inhibitor of tyrosinase when L-tyrosinase was used as a substrate. The results suggest that hydroxyl groups at C-4' in the B ring of flavonoids play an important role in the tyrosinase inhibition activities. Interestingly, compounds 4-7 were isolated for the first time from this plant.