Determination of the Thermodegradation of deoxyArbutin in Aqueous Solution by High Performance Liquid Chromatography

International Journal of Molecular Sciences

Chao-Hsun Yang¹  Yi-Shyan Chen¹  Jeng-Shiow Lai¹  Willy W. L. Hong² 

[1] Department of Cosmetic Science, Providence University, 200 Chung-Chi Road, Shalu, Taichung, 43301, Taiwan; E-Mails:;R&D Department, Denjelly Co., Ltd., 60 Jiabei 2nd St., Jhunan, Miaoli, 35058, Taiwan; E-Mail:

关键词: deoxyArbutin;    hydroquinone;    skin whitening;    thermostability;    tyrosinase inhibitor;   

DOI  :  10.3390/ijms11103977

来源: mdpi

【 摘 要 】

Tyrosinase is the key and rate-limiting enzyme responsible for the conversion of tyrosine into melanin. Competitive inhibition of tyrosinase enzymatic activity results in decreased or absent melanin synthesis by melanocytes in human skin. DeoxyArbutin (4-[(tetrahydro-2H-pyran-2-yl)oxy]phenol), a novel skin whitening agent, was synthesized through the removal of hydroxyl groups from the glucose side-chain of arbutin. DeoxyArbutin not only shows greater inhibition of tyrosinase activity but is also safer than hydroquinone and arbutin. Hence, deoxyArbutin is a potential skin whitening agent for cosmetics and depigmenting drugs; however, stability of this compound under some conditions remains a problem. The lack of stability poses developmental and practical difficulties for the use of deoxyArbutin in cosmetics and medicines. Improving the thermostability of deoxyArbutin is an important issue for its development. In this research, we established an analytical procedure to verify the amount of deoxyArbutin in solutions using a high performance liquid chromatographic (HPLC) method. The results indicate that this novel skin whitening agent is a thermolabile compound in aqueous solutions. Additionally, the rate constant for thermodegradation (k) and the half-life (t_1/2) of deoxyArbutin were determined and can be used to understand the thermodegradation kinetics of deoxyArbutin. This information can aid in the application of deoxyArbutin for many future uses.

【 授权许可】

CC BY   
© 2010 by the authors; licensee Molecular Diversity Preservation International, Basel, Switzerland.