Abstract
In eastern Asian region, cosmetic preparations containing the molecues possessing the whitening activity are promising. In this study, 100 plant extracts were screened in order to elucidate the whitening effects using in vitro tyrosinase assay and DOPA autooxidation. Several plant extracts such as Morus alba, Glycyrrhiza glabra showed the inhibitory activity (>50%) against mushroom tyrosinase at the concentration 333$mu extrm{m}$/ml. And plant extracts including Morus alba and Bupleurum falcatum showed the inhibitory activity (>50%) at the concentration of 500($\mu\textrm{g}$/ml against DOPA autooxidation. The IC50 values of the several extracts were also found.