| Summary: | <i>Agathis</i> species are widely distributed around Southeast Asia, Australasia, South Pacific islands, and etc. Traditionally, <i>Agathis</i> species have been used as the folk medicines, the common ethnopharmacological uses of <i>Agathis</i> genus are the treatments of headache and myalgia. This study aims to investigate the chemical composition of <i>Agathis dammara</i> (Lamb.) Rich. leaf essential oil and to explore its antimelanogenesis effect. The chemical constituents of leaf essential oil are analyzed using gas chromatography-mass spectrometry (GC-MS), the major constituents of leaf essential oil are sesquiterpenoids. The major constituents are δ-cadinene (16.12%), followed by γ-gurjunene (15.57%), 16-kaurene (12.43%), β-caryophyllene (8.58%), germacrene D (8.53%), and γ-cadinene (5.33%). As for the in vitro antityrosinase activity, leaf essential oil inhibit the tyrosinase activity of mushroom when the substrate is 3,4-dihydroxyphenylalanine (L-DOPA). Leaf essential oil prevents tyrosinase from acting as diphenolase and catalyzing L-DOPA to dopaquinone, and converting into dark melanin pigments. <i>A. dammara</i> leaf essential oil also exhibits the in vivo antimelanogenesis effect, leaf essential oil reduces 43.48% of melanin formation in zebrafish embryos at the concentration of 50 μg/mL. Results reveal <i>A. dammara</i> leaf essential oil has the potential for developing the skin whitening drug and depigmentation ingredient for hyperpigmentary disorders.
|
|---|