Antioxidant Activity and Anti-Photoaging Effects on UVA-Irradiated Human Fibroblasts of Rosmarinic Acid Enriched Extract Prepared from Thunbergia laurifolia Leaves.

The current study investigated the inhibiting effect on reactive oxygen species (ROS), reactive nitrogen species (RNS), and matrix metalloproteinase-1 (MMP-1) production in a cell-based study of standardized rosmarinic acid enriched extract (SRAEE) prepared from Thunbergia laurifolia leaves. HPLC chromatogram revealed that rosmarinic acid is a major component in prepared SRAEE, followed by caffeic acid. SRAEE exhibited antioxidant activity both in vitro and cell-based studies. SRAEE showed scavenging effects on nitric oxide and superoxide anion and inhibition effects on lipid peroxidation in vitro. SRAEE also inhibited ROS and MMP-1 production in normal human dermal fibroblast cells induced by H2O2 and UVA, respectively, without exerted cytotoxicity. Additionally, collagen degradation was protected by SRAEE induced by UVA. Nitric oxide and inducible nitric oxide synthase (iNOS) productions were also inhibited by SRAEE in RAW264.7 mouse macrophage cells induced by combined lipopolysaccharide (LPS)-interferon-γ (IFN-γ). The results indicated that SRAEE is a potential candidate as a natural pharmaceutical active ingredient for cosmeceutical product application.

Subcritical water extraction of flavoring and phenolic compounds from cinnamon bark (Cinnamomum zeylanicum).

Cinnamon bark (Cinnamomum zeylanicum) powder was treated with subcritical water at 150 and 200°C in a semi-continuous system at a constant flow rate (3 mL/min) and pressure (6 MPa). Major flavoring compounds, i.e., cinnamaldehyde, cinnamic acid, cinnamyl alcohol and coumarin, were extracted at lower recoveries than the extraction using methanol, suggesting that degradation of these components might occur during the subcritical water treatment. Caffeic, ferulic, p-coumaric, protocatechuic and vanillic acids were identified from the subcritical water treatment. Extraction using subcritical water was more effective to obtain these acids than methanol (50% v/v) in both number of components and recovery, especially at 200°C. Subcritical water treatment at 200°C also resulted in a higher total phenolic content and DPPH radical scavenging activity than the methanol extraction. The DPPH radical scavenging activity and total phenolic content linearly correlated but the results suggested that the extraction at 200°C might result in other products that possessed a free radical scavenging activity other than the phenolic compounds.