TITLE:
Melanin Biosynthesis Inhibitory Activity of Compounds Isolated from Unused Parts of Ammi visinaga
AUTHORS:
Ahmed Ashour, Saleh El-Sharkawy, Mohamed Amer, Fatma Abdel Bar, Ryuichiro Kondo, Kuniyoshi Shimizu
KEYWORDS:
Ammi visinaga; Khellin; Melanin
JOURNAL NAME:
Journal of Cosmetics, Dermatological Sciences and Applications,
Vol.3 No.3B,
November
26,
2013
ABSTRACT: Ten compounds have been isolated from the unused parts of Ammi visinaga. The isolated compounds were identified as tetracosanoic acid (1), β-sitosterol (2), visnadine (3), khellin (4), β-sitosterol glucoside (5), norkhellol (6), khellol (7), rhamnazin (8), cimifugin (9), and cis-khellactone-3’-β-glucopyranoside (10). The chemical structures of these compounds were elucidated based on spectroscopic data (NMR, UV, MS and IR spectra). This is the first report on the identification of tetracosanoic acid (1), norkhellol (6) and cimifugin (9) in the Ammi genus. The melanin biosynthesis inhibitory activities of khellin (4), khellol (7), visnadine (3), cimifugin (9), β-sitosterol (2) and β-sitosterol glucoside (5) were evaluated. Khellin (4) exhibited a potent melanin inhibitory effect compared to arbutin with less toxicity.