Mushroom tyrosinase inhibitory activity and major fatty acid constituents of Amazonian native flora oils

In order to treat hyperpigmentation-related problems, there has been a global trend in developing cosmetics claiming to have skin-whitening properties, which act by inhibiting melanin biosynthesis. The objective of this work was to evaluate the in vitro mushroom tyrosinase inhibitory activity of five Amazonian native flora oils, and so to verify the possibility of their incorporation into cosmetic products. In addition, the fatty acid composition of the essential oils was determined by gas chromatography-flame ionisation detection in order to determine the main components of these oils. The tyrosinase inhibitory activity of the tested oils was found to be in the following order: acai (IA50 = 66.08 µg mL-1) > tucuma > pataua > pracaxi > castanha do Brasil. This study suggests that acai oil has great potential in the treatment of hyperpigmentation and other related disorders, due to its considerable tyrosinase inhibitory activity.