J. Cosmet. Sci., 65, 207–216 (July/August 2014) 207 Antioxidant activity in mung bean sprouts and safety of extracts for cosmetic use TANG DONGYAN, DONG YINMA O, LI LI, LIU YUEHENG, HE CONGFEN, and LAI JIXIANG, School of Chemical Engineering & Technology, Harbin Institute of Technology, Harbin 150001, Heilongjiang (T.D., D.Y.), School of Science, Beijing Technology and Business University, Beijing 100048 (D.Y., L.L., L.Y., H.C.), and School of Chemical and Material Engineering, Jiangnan University, Wuxi 214122, Jiangsu (L.J.), China. Accepted for publication May 23, 2014. Synopsis The antioxidant activity of mung bean sprouts was studied in this research. Active ingredients in different lengths of mung bean sprouts were extracted with water. Concentrations of the main proteins and polyphe- nols were determined. Antioxidizing capacities of the extracts were measured in vitro using the 1,1-diphenyl- 2-picrylhydrazyl (DPPH) radical scavenging test, ferric reducing antioxidant power method, and chelation abilities of ferrous ion. The safety of the extracts was determined using t he red blood cell (RBC) test, chick chorioallantoic membrane (CAM) assay, and human skin patch test. Results show that DPPH radical scav- enging rates at different shoot lengths were all greater than 85%, while the total antioxidant capacity of the extracts reached more than 4.0 and the chelation abilities of fi rst-day sprout extract is nearly 80%, indicating that mung bean sprouts have excellent anti-oxygenic property. Results of RBC (hemolysis ratio), CAM (vascular morphological), and human skin patch tests (changed subjects) illustrated extracts of mung bean sprouts are safe and can be used as additives in antiaging cosmetic products. INTRODUCTION The mung bean (Vigna radiata L.) is a legume used as medicine and food. Mung bean sprouts are made by soaking the seeds. Doctors of traditional Chinese medicine consider mung bean sprouts to be cool and sweet, and use them to clear heat, dredge meridians, detoxify the kidney, and correct diuresis. Modern pharmacological studies show that mung bean sprouts can treat tumors, restrain bacteria, treat acne, and so on (1–3). In the process of sprouting mung beans, not only is a large proportion of the original nutritional value of the mung bean seeds retained, but also because of a series of metabolic activities, the content of some active substances increases signifi cantly. Compared with mung bean A ddress all correspondence to Lai Jixiang at laijixiang1983@163.com.

JOURNAL OF COSMETIC SCIENCE 208 seeds, mung bean sprouts contain more potential antioxidant active substances such as polyphenol and protein (4–7). Increasing environmental pollution overexposes the body to ultraviolet and other pollut- ants, thereby inducing it to produce too many free radicals, such as super oxygen anion and hydroxy radical. Poor living habits and work stress also increase free radicals in the modern human body. As people age, free radicals gradually accumulate. Excess fat and free radicals can lead to biomacromolecule crosslinking polymerization and lipofuscin accumulation in organ tissue. Organ tissue cells are damaged and reduced, eventually leading to the aging of the body (8–10). This research is devoted to the antioxidizing capacities of mung bean sprouts and the safety of their extracts for potential use as addi- tives in cosmetics. RESULTS AND DISCUSSION CONCENTRATIONS OF POLYPHENOLS AND PROTEINS IN EXTRACTS The concentrations of polyphenols and proteins in water extracts of mung bean sprouts are shown in Figures 1 and 2. Each sample was measured three times and the mean value was recorded as the detection result. In the active ingredients of mung bean sprouts, the protein content is greater than that of phenolic acids. Compared with mung bean seed (0 day), the total content of phenolic acids in sprouts 3 days after germination was signifi cantly increased. Morphological anal- ysis shows that the most rapid growth is on the third day of this process, which involves signifi cant bioconversion of related enzymes. The protein content of mung bean sprouts is the highest between 0 and 8 days after germination. The components that play a major role in the antioxidant properties of mung bean sprouts remain to be elucidated. ANTIOXIDANT ACTIVITY DETERMINATION It was found in early experiments that the optimal pH of mung bean sprouts extract is 6.6, which is the best condition for antioxidant and chelating activities. Proteins in Figure 1. Concentration (mg/ml) of polyphenols in mung bean sprouts germinated from 0 to 8 days (n = 3).