Abstract:
Aging is an unavoidable fate that afflicts all life, during this process in mammals reactive oxygen species
(ROS) are generated which stimulate tyrosinase, elastase and collagenase activities that actively
participate in skin aging. Therefore, the maintenance of antioxidant homeostasis is an important anti-
aging strategy for skin. Nature has excellent anti-aging remedies that act externally as well as internally
to delay the visual signs of aging. In view of this fact, the present study investigates the in vitro anti-aging
activity of five medicinal plants belonging to phenolic rich families namely Rosmarinus officinalis,
Lavandula officinalis, Matricaria chamomilla, Camellia sinensis and Pelargonium graveolens. The selected
plants are those most frequently used in the preparation of ethnomedicinal recipes for the prevention or
treatment of aging. The inhibitory effects of the ethanolic and aqueous extracts of the five selected
plants on the activity of tyrosinase, elastase, and collagenase enzymes were investigated. Furthermore,
the chemical composition of the plants and the antioxidant capacity of their extracts were assessed. The
results showed that R. officinalis had the highest total phenolics content which was correlated with its
potent antioxidant and anti-aging activities. To pinpoint the active metabolites in the tested extracts, we
evaluated the metabolite variations using ultra-performance liquid chromatography coupled with high
resolution electrospray ionization-tandem mass spectrometry (UPLC-HR-ESI-MS/MS). Multivariate data
analysis (MVDA) revealed that R. officinalis significantly accumulated metabolites from the aromatic
diterpenoid, flavonoid and phenolic acid classes. These results indicate that rosemary can be used for
further development of topical preparations with anti-aging properties.
