Extracts of Morus nigra L. Leaves Standardized in Chlorogenic Acid, Rutin and Isoquercitrin: Tyrosinase Inhibition and Cytotoxicity

Melanogenesis is a process responsible for melanin production, which is stored in melanocytes containing tyrosinase. Inhibition of this enzyme is a target in the cosmetics industry, since it controls undesirable skin conditions such as hyperpigmentation due to the overproduction of melanin. Species of the Morus genus are known for the beneficial uses offered in different parts of its plants, including tyrosinase inhibition. Thus, this project aimed to study the inhibitory activity of tyrosinase by extracts from Morus nigra leaves as well as the characterization of its chromatographic profile and cytotoxicity in order to become a new therapeutic option from a natural source. M. nigra leaves were collected, pulverized, equally divided into five batches and the standardized extract was obtained by passive maceration. There was no significant difference between batches for total solids content, yield and moisture content, which shows good reproducibility of the extraction process. Tyrosinase enzymatic activity was determined for each batch, providing the percentage of enzyme inhibition and IC50 values obtained by constructing dose-response curves and compared to kojic acid, a well-known tyrosinase inhibitor. High inhibition of tyrosinase activity was observed (above 90% at 15.625 μg/mL). The obtained IC50 values ranged from 5.00 μg/mL ± 0.23 to 8.49 μg/mL ± 0.59 and were compared to kojic acid (3.37 μg/mL ± 0.65). High Performance Liquid Chromatography analysis revealed the presence of chlorogenic acid, rutin and, its major compound, isoquercitrin. The chromatographic method employed was validated according to ICH guidelines and the extract was standardized using these polyphenols as markers. Cytotoxicity, assessed by MTT assay, was not observed on murine melanomas, human keratinocytes and mouse fibroblasts in tyrosinase IC50 values. This study demonstrated the potential of M. nigra leaf extract as a promising whitening agent of natural source against skin hyperpigmentation.