Analysis of antibacterial, anti-inflammatory, and skin-whitening effect of Centella asiatica (L.) Urban

Abstract

The imports of Centella asiatica L. Urban are increasing year-by-year due to the fact that its extract is a raw material used for skin wounds and in cosmetics. However, studies on the cultivation and identification of native C. asiatica species in Korea have been extremely rare. Therefore, this study was conducted in order to investigate the physiological and functional activity of Korean native C. asiatica plant cultivated in Hapcheon, Gyeongsangnam-do, Korea. As a result, the highest antibacterial and anti-inflammatory activities were examined with methanol extract while skin-whitening and wrinkle improvement were examined with water extract. Seven bacterium and one fungus were treated with 50% methanol extracts of C. asiatica and most of the bacterium showed similar or low levels of antibacterial activity compared to the control group of Omiza (Schisandra chinensis) extract, except for Streptococcus pyogenes, which showed higher antimicrobial activity than that of Omiza extract. However, neither C. asiatica and Omiza extracts showed antimicrobial activity against the fungus, C. albicans. The results of anti-inflammatory effect analyses with Raw 264.7 cells confirmed that the treatment of methanol extract reduced the level of NO by 50% or more compared to the control group. In addition, the water extract showed the highest reduction of melanin content of up to 20% more than the control group when examined with B16F10 cell line, indicating a significant skin-whitening effect. Furthermore, we were able to show the significant skin wrinkle improvement caused by C. asiatica extract with NHDF cell as an indicator, but strong cytotoxicity was also observed, suggesting that further studies are necessary.

Sensitive skin: Active ingredients on the spotlight

“…It is mainly constituted by carbohydrates, having a low protein and fat content [82]. Its extracts have shown to provide an antioxidant and anti‐inflammatory action, due to the inhibition from cytokine release (TNF‐α, IL‐1b, IL‐8, IL‐4 and IL‐13), iNOS, COX‐2 and NF‐kB activity, as well as mast cell and other inflammatory cell infiltration [83–85].…”

Pharmacological effects of pentacyclic triterpenoids isolated from Centella asiatica

“…Because of the variety of its pharmacological properties, CA has long been used for curing skin damage, such as wounds and burns, as well as for treating various human diseases, such as leprosy, stomach ulcers, degenerative arthritis, eczema, diarrhea, fever, genital diseases, hepatitis and jaundice, physical fatigue and mental fatigue, and to promote detoxification (Brinkhaus et al 2000;Bylka et al 2014;Gohil et al 2010;Sabaragamuwa et al 2018;Siddiqui et al 2007). In addition, recent scientific evidence elucidated that CA has antioxidant, antimicrobial, anti-inflammatory, neuroprotective, memory improvement, immunomodulatory, and antidepressant activities (Gohil et al 2010;Goo et al 2018;Harun et al 2019). Its verified medicinal properties have contributed to its approval as a natural medicine both in Western countries, such as England, France, Italy, Netherlands, Germany, and Poland, and in Asian ones, such as China (Bylka et al 2013;Shin et al 2021).…”

Aktivitas pegagan (Centella asiatica) pada dermatologi

“…Pada studi in vitro dengan menggunakan fibroblas dermal manusia, terbukti bahwa pegagan memiliki pengaruh yang besar terhadap pengendapan protein matriks ekstraseluler, merangsang proliferasi fibroblas, meningkatkan sintesis kolagen, menurunkan aktivitas metaloproteinase sehingga meningkatkan deposisi kolagen [7]. Pada penelitian lain, ekstrak air dari pegagan menunjukkan pengurangan tertinggi kandungan melanin hingga 20% lebih banyak dari kelompok kontrol ketika diperiksa dengan sel melanoma B16F10, sehingga menunjukkan efek pemutihan kulit yang signifikan [34]. Pegagan memiliki aktivitas pemutihan kulit dengan menghambat tirosinase.…”