Chemical composition and the anti-melanogenic potential of different essential oils

Tyrosinase is the key enzyme of melanogenesis, the process that determines skin and hair pigmentation in mammals. In humans, various pigmentary disorders depend on excessive melanin production and accumulation. Moreover, tyrosinase activity can cause the undesirable browning of plant-derived food. For such reasons, ongoing researches aim at developing effective melanogenesis inhibitors for medical, cosmetic and food applications. Diverse biological activities have been observed for certain plant essential oils (EOs) and their components. In this study, the EOs from nine different plant species were investigated for their anti-melanogenic potential. The EOs chemical composition was assessed by gas chromatography-mass spectrometry (GC-MS) revealing the presence of some constituents with known tyrosinase inhibitory ability. Most EOs inhibited significantly and dose-dependently mushroom tyrosinase. Two samples also inhibited the activity of tyrosinase from murine B16 melanoma cells. Our findings indicate that some of the analysed EOs may be promising natural sources for developing novel anti-melanogenic agents, thus having a good potential in medical, cosmetic and food-processing industries.