A Study on the Physiological Activity of Artemisia frigida Leaf Extracts

Artemisia frigida is a member of the Compositae family and is widely used in traditional medicine for treatment of diverse disease. The anti-oxidant, anti-inflammatory, and anti-melanogenic activities of A. frigida leaf extract using aqueous (A. fridia water, AFW) and ethanol (A. fridia ethanol, AFE) solvents were investigated. The anti-oxidant activity was determined using 2,2-diphenyl-1-picrylhydrazyl free radical (DPPH) and 2,2’-azino-bis(3-ethylbenzothiazoline-6-sulfonic acid)(ABTS) assays, revealing it to be high. The effect of anti-inflammation on the A. frigida leaf extract was assessed in LPS stimulated murine macrophage cell line, RAW264.7. AFW extract suppressed the LPS-stimulated inflammatory responses in RAW 264.7 macrophage cells by significantly reducing nitric oxide production in a concentration-dependent manner. This extract also inhibited interleukin-6 (IL-6) production and suppressed the protein expression of inducible nitric oxide synthase (iNOS) in LPS-stimulated RAW 264.7 macrophage cells. Furthermore, the AFW and AFE showed 30.190% and 24.295% inhibition of tyrosinase activity and 50.190% and 50.061% inhibition of DOPA oxidation activity at 1 mg/mL. These results suggest that Artemisia frigida leaf has a great potential as sources of bioactive compounds which could be used as functional cosmetic ingredients in skin care.