Beauty food activities of polygala japonica houtt.

The objective of this study was to identify beauty food activity of Polygala japonica Houtt., which were widely used as a folk medicinal plant to treat inflammatory diseases. Both hot water and 50% ethanol extract of P. japonica Houtt. were evaluated for their anti-oxidant, whitening, anti-wrinkle and anti-inflammatory effect based on their phenolic concentration. To measure anti-oxidant activity, four experiments were carried out. 1,1-diphenyl-3-picrylhydrazyl, 2,2-azinobis (3-ethylbenzothia-zoline-6-sulfonic acid) and thiobarbituric acid reactive substances all showed more than 80% efficacy in both hot water and 50% ethanol extract of P. japonica Houtt. and likewise antioxidant protection factor value more than 2. To investigate the whitening effect of P. japonica Houtt., the inhibition effect of tyrosinase on hot water and 50% ethanol extract was inhibited by 12.46 and 22.10%, respectively. To examine the anti-wrinkle effect, the inhibition effect of elastase and collagenase on hot water and 50% ethanol extract were inhibited by 28.28, 58.36% and 59.73, 78.90% respectively. To investigate the anti-inflammatory effect and moisturizing effect by hyaluronidase inhibitory effect, hot water and 50% ethanol extract were 35.65 and 86.80%, respectively. The result of all the above experiments show values at a concentration of 200 µg/mL, and based on these experimental results, P. japonica Houtt. can be expected as a functional material in beauty foods.