Antioxidant activity and melanogenesis inhibitory effect of the acetonic extract of Osmanthus fragrans: A potential natural and functional food flavor additive

Osmanthus fragrans, a common flavor additive for tea and other beverages, has potential applications in biomedical science. In this study, we investigated O. fragrans acetonic extract (OFE) for its total phenolic and flavonoid contents, radical-scavenging activity, and potential anti-tyrosinase ability. OFE possessed considerable amounts of phenolics (264.7 mg gallic acid equivalent/g of extract) and flavonoids (190.7 mg catechin equivalent/g of extract). The antioxidation activities, measured in terms of EC50 values using DPPH and ABTS+ assays, were 304.9 mg ascorbic acid equivalent/g of extract and 516.3 mg trolox equivalent/g of extract, respectively. LC–MS results discovered the presence of luteolin in the extract, and a kinetic study revealed an uncompetitive inhibitory effect of OFE upon the oxidation of tyrosine (IC50 = 2.314 mg/mL) and l-DOPA (IC50 = 44.20 mg/mL). In addition, we tested OFE in vitro (B16F10 cells) for its anti-tyrosinase activity and anti-melanin formation and found that OFE was able to reduce the tyrosinase activity and melanin formation of B16F10 cells in a dose-dependent manner. Our findings support that O. fragrans is a potential natural, functional antioxidant food favor additive. Additionally, because OFE inhibits melanin formation, it appears to have potential use as an anti-browning food additive, in skin-whitening cosmetics, or as a new drug for treating melanoma.