Effect of Antioxidative Activity and Inhibition of Melanogenesis from Euphorbia humifusa Extract

In order to develop a skin whitening material for natural medicinal plants, experiments were conducted to measure melanin content and intracellular tyrosinase activity to verify whitening activity by extracting and fractionating ‘Euphorbia humifusa’. It was obtained from 80% ethanol extract of ‘Euphorbia humifusa’, and solvent fractions were performed in the order of chlorofrom, ethyl acetate, butanol, and water. DPPH and ABTs were performed for the measurement of antioxidant activity, and arbutin and ascorbic acid were used as controls for comparison. It was confirmed that DPPH showed 24.1 times better effect in the ethyl acetate fraction and 88.9 times better effect in the non-silver ethyl acetate fraction in the activity using ABTs. It was confirmed that the ethyl acetate fraction among the fractions had better yield than the nucleic acid fraction, and the ability to inhibit melanin production and intracellular tyrosinase enzyme activity than the butanol fraction. Therefore, the ethyl acetate fraction was selected and the experiment was carried out, and the ethyl acetate fraction (E-EA) inhibited melanogenesis in a concentration-dependent manner in B16/F10 melanoma cells in which melanogenesis was induced by α-melanocytestimulating hormone (α-MSH). Precisely, the intracellular tyrosinase activity and melanin content showed inhibition rates of 45% and 73%, respectively, when treated with 100 μg/mL of the ethyl acetate fraction, compared to the α-MSH alone. Therefore, it is considered that its value as a skin whitening material is proven.