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The antimelanogenic activity of six hydrocoumarins and alpha-tocopherol (alpha-Toc) in normal human melanocytes was evaluated in both cell culture systems and cell homogenates. The inhibitory effects of hydrocoumarins depended upon their substituent groups. alpha-Toc and some of the hydrocoumarins inhibited melanogenesis in cultured normal human melanocytes, although they did not influence melanin synthesis in enzyme solution prepared as cell homogenates. In addition, alpha-Toc and the hydrocoumarins stimulated intracellular glutathione (GSH) synthesis. In particular, 7-allyl-6-hydroxy-4,4,5,8-tetramethylhydrocoumarin strongly inhibited melanogenesis and intracellular GSH synthesis in normal human melanocytes, more so than alpha-Toc. Furthermore, hydrocoumarins exhibited higher scavenging and quenching activities against with tert-butyl peroxyl radicals and singlet oxygen species. These results suggest that 7-allyl-6-hydroxy-4,4,5,8-tetramethyl hydrocoumarin would be useful as an antimelanogenic agent for the prevention or improvement of skin pigmentation induced by reactive oxygen compounds and free radicals, and may inhibit melanogenesis, including tyrosinase transfer and melanosome differentiation, by interrupting melanization by increasing the intracellular GSH content.

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The antioxidant activities of phenothiazines, carbazoles, and related diphenylamines were evaluated in the oxidation of tetralin at 60 °C and linoleic acid micelles in aqueous dispersion at 37 °C induced by an azo initiator. Phenothiazines were highly antioxidant in both systems. Although diphenylamine and carbazole were not good antioxidants, those having a hydroxy group as a substituent at the ortho or para position to the amino group were potently antioxidant. The antioxidant activity of o-hydroxydiphenylamine was much greater than that of other compounds in both systems due to a stabilization of the phenoxyl radical by delocalization of the unpaired electron to the p-type lone pair of the amino group. A semiempirical MNDO-AM1 calculation was applied to study hydrogen abstractions of antioxidants in the chain process of autoxidation. These results indicated that the rates of oxidation during the induction period correlated with the dissociation energies of the O–H or N–H bonds.

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