2. Academic Validation
  3. Identification of geranic acid, a tyrosinase inhibitor in lemongrass (Cymbopogon citratus)

Identification of geranic acid, a tyrosinase inhibitor in lemongrass (Cymbopogon citratus)

  • J Agric Food Chem. 2008 Jan 23;56(2):597-601. doi: 10.1021/jf072893l.
Toshiya Masuda 1,  Yuka Odaka,  Natsuko Ogawa,  Katsuo Nakamoto,  Hideki Kuninaga
Affiliations

Affiliation

  • 1 Faculty of Integrated Arts and Sciences, University of Tokushima, Tokushima 770-8502, Japan. [email protected]
PMID: 18081247 DOI: 10.1021/jf072893l
Abstract

Lemongrass is a popular Asian herb having a lemon-like flavor. Very recently, potent Tyrosinase inhibitory activity has been found in lemongrass in addition to various biological activities reported in the literature. The aim of the present study is to identify the active compounds in the lemongrass. An assay-guided purification revealed that one of the active substances was geranic acid. Geranic acid has two stereoisomers, which are responsible for the trans and cis geometry on the conjugated double bond. Both isomers are present in the active ethyl acetate-soluble extract of the lemongrass, and their IC50 values were calculated to be 0.14 and 2.3 mM, respectively. The structure requirement of geranic acid for the potent Tyrosinase inhibitory activity was investigated using geranic acid-related compounds.

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