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].Cosmet. Sci.J 58, 35-44 Qanuary/February 2007)
High-performance liquid chromatographic determination of
arbutin in skin-whitening creams and medicinal
plant extracts
WISANU THONGCHAI, BOONSOM LIAWRUANGRATH,
and SAISUNEE LIAWRUANGRATH, Department of
Pharmaceutical Sciences, Faculty of Pharmacy (W. T., B.L.), and
Department of Chemistry, Faculty of Science (S.L.), Chiang Mai
University, Chiang Mai, 50200, Thailand.
Accepted for publication November 1, 2006.
Synopsis
A high-performance liquid chromatographic method was developed for quantitative analysis of arbutin. The
arbutin was separated on an ODS Hypersil® C
18 column with a mobile phase of water:methanol:0.1 M
hydrochloric acid (89: 10: l, v/v/v). The level of arbutin was measured by means of UV detection at 222 nm.
The optimum conditions for arbutin quantitative analysis were investigated. The calibration curve was
found to be linear up to 1,000 �1g/ml- 1 of arbutin concentration, and the working calibration curve for
arbutin determination over the range 0.5-30.0 µg/ml-1 of arbutin (r2 =0.9999) was established. The
relative standard deviations for intraday and interday were found to be 0.98% and 1.15%, respectively. A
detection limit (3CT) and quantitation limit (lOCT) of 0.02 µg/ml- 1 and 0.2 µg/ml- 1
,respectively, and a mean
percentage recovery of the spiked arbutin of99.88 ± 1.12% were obtained. The proposed method has been
applied to the determination of arbutin in commercial skin-whitening creams (Arbuwhite® cream, Super
Whitening® cream, and Shiseido® cream) with average contents of 7.60, 5.30, and 57.90 mg/g-1, respec-
tively. It was also applied to the determination of arbutin in medicinal plant extracts from Betula alnoides
Buch. Ham., Clerodendrum petasites S. Moore, Curculigo latifolia Dryand. Var. latifolia, and HeJperethusa
crenulata (Roxb.) Roem, levels of which were found to be 3.50, 1.50, 1.10, and 0.12 µg/g- 1
,respectively (no
article reported in the literature about arbutin analysis). The proposed HPLC method is rapid, simple, and
selective for routine analysis.
INTRODUCTION
Skin-whitening products have become increasingly in demand in the past few years. The
main purpose for skin-lightening products is to lighten the skin as well as to even out
skin tone or to treat pigmentation disorders such as freckles, melasma, pregnancy marks,
and age spots (1). The most successful recent and natural skin-whitening agents are
arbutin, vitamin C, kojic acid, licorice extract, burner root extract, scutellaria extract,
Address all correspondence to Boonsom Liawruangrath.
35