Antioxidant Property and Inhibition of Tyrosinase and Melanin Synthesis of the Korean Fir (Abies koreana Wilson) Needle Extracts

Korean fir (Abies koreana Wilson) is traditionally used in folk medicine for its antibacterial, memory-enhancing, and anti-inflammatory properties. In this study, we evaluated the antioxidant and skin-whitening effects of the methanol and ethanol extracts of Korean fir needles. The extracts were tested for their antioxidant capacity using various assays, including radical scavenging (1,1-diphenyl-2-picrylhydrazyl, O2-, H2O2 and NOž), SOD-like, ferrous ion chelating, and reducing power assays. The total phenolic and flavonoid contents were determined by the Folin-Ciocalteu method. The non-toxic doses of the extracts were determined by MTT assay using human malignant melanoma SK mel-100 cells, and the tyrosinase activity and melanin contents were measured using an enzyme-substrate assay. The results showed that the antioxidant activity of the Korean fir needle extracts increased in a dose-dependent manner, as confirmed by their radical scavenging activities in the 2,2-diphenyl-1-1-picrylhydrazyl and 2,2-azino-bis-(3-ethylbenzthiazoline-6-sulfonic acid) assays. The Korean fir needle extract significantly reduced tyrosinase activity and melanin content in a dose-dependent manner (p < 0.01), suggesting its potential use as a skin-whitening agent. The methanol extracts of the Korean fir needles exhibited significantly higher phenolic (8306 mg gallic acid equivalents/100 g) content, with higher superoxide (IC50 = 4.22 mg/mL) and nitric oxide (IC50 = 1.50 mg/mL) radical scavenging activities and inhibition of tyrosinase and melanin synthesis than those of ethanol extracts (p < 0.05). Overall, our results demonstrate the potential of Korean fir (Abies koreana Wilson) needles as a source of tyrosinase inhibitors and antioxidants for inhibiting melanin biosynthesis, which could have applications in the cosmetic and pharmaceutical industries.