Extraction and effect of whitening agents from chinese plants

In this work, extraction and purification of the possible whitening agents from the Chinese plants; Chrysanthemum morifolium Ramat (xizang cai ju hua), Rhodiola sachalinensis, and Terminalia chebula Retzius have been described. The chopped leaves of Chrysanthemum morifolium Ramat and Terminalia chebula Retzius were added to water and ethyl ether, respectively. Components were separated on a GS310 column (21.5x 500 mm i.d., 10-15 mu m) and concentrated into four or three portions. The chopped leaves of Rhodiola salientness were added to methanol and separated and concentrated on a column (C18 column, 3.9 degrees(SIC)300 mm i.d., 15 mu m) into two parts. The whitening effects of extracts were examined by in-vitro melanin production assay, in melana and B16 cells at a concentration of 10 mu g/ml. The ethyl acetate layer of Chrysanthemum morifolium Ramat showed 92% melanin inhibitory at 200 mu g/ml, the extract of Rhodiola sachalinensis showed a whitening effect of about 60% melanin inhibitory, which was more efficient than the whitening effect of arbutin (45.6%). The methanol extract of Terminalia chebula Retzius inhibited melanin expression by 90% at 100 mu g/ml; however, it was toxic to B16 melanoma cells.