Application of composition containing astragalus extract in preparation of product with whitening effect

Abstract

The invention relates to the technical field of natural product chemistry and cosmetics, and particularly discloses application of a composition containing an astragalus extract in preparation of a product with a whitening effect. The composition containing the radix astragali seu hedysari extract comprises the radix astragali seu hedysari extract and a folium cortex eucommiae extract, the radix astragali extract is obtained by extracting with an ethanol aqueous solution; the folium cortex eucommiae extract is extracted by a carbon dioxide supercritical extraction method. Research shows that the composition obtained by combining the astragalus membranaceus extract prepared by the method and the folium cortex eucommiae extract has a better melanogenesis inhibition effect; therefore, when the composition containing the astragalus extract is used as an active ingredient for preparing a product with a whitening effect, the composition has an important application value.

Description

Technical Field

[0001] This invention relates to the fields of natural product chemistry and cosmetics technology, specifically to the application of a composition containing astragalus extract in the preparation of products with whitening effects. Background Technology

[0002] Skin pigmentation is a significant factor affecting skin tone evenness and aesthetics, primarily caused by the excessive production and deposition of melanin. Melanin is converted from tyrosine by melanocytes in the skin through a series of oxidation reactions catalyzed by tyrosinase. Therefore, inhibiting tyrosinase activity, blocking melanin synthesis pathways, or promoting the metabolism of existing melanin are the main strategies for achieving skin whitening.

[0003] Astragalus is the dried root of *Astragalus membranaceus* or *Astragalus mongholicus*, both belonging to the genus *Astragalus* in the legume family. It has a sweet taste and slightly warm nature, and enters the spleen and lung meridians. It possesses the functions of strengthening the spleen and replenishing the middle jiao, raising yang and lifting prolapse, benefiting wei qi and consolidating the exterior, promoting diuresis and reducing swelling, and promoting tissue regeneration and detoxification. It is mainly used to treat spleen qi deficiency, lung qi deficiency, and qi and blood deficiency. Modern research shows that astragalus also has a certain whitening effect. However, the application of astragalus in modern whitening products is still in the preliminary exploration stage. Current technology has not systematically elucidated how astragalus extract exerts its whitening effect by regulating melanin synthesis.

[0004] Therefore, developing a composition containing astragalus extract that can inhibit melanin production is of significant application value for the development of skin whitening products. Summary of the Invention

[0005] In order to overcome at least one technical problem existing in the prior art, the present invention provides the application of a composition containing astragalus extract in the preparation of a product with whitening effect.

[0006] The technical solution of the present invention is as follows: The present invention first provides a composition containing Astragalus extract, which comprises Astragalus extract and Eucommia ulmoides leaf extract; The Astragalus extract was obtained by extraction with an ethanol-water solution; The Eucommia ulmoides leaf extract was obtained by supercritical carbon dioxide extraction.

[0007] The inventors discovered in their research that the combination of Astragalus membranaceus extract and Eucommia ulmoides leaf extract prepared by the method described in this invention has a good inhibitory effect on melanin production.

[0008] Preferably, the mass ratio of Astragalus membranaceus extract to Eucommia ulmoides leaf extract is 1-5:1-5.

[0009] Preferably, the mass ratio of Astragalus membranaceus extract to Eucommia ulmoides leaf extract is 4:3.

[0010] Preferably, the Astragalus extract is obtained by extraction with an ethanol aqueous solution of 50-70% by volume.

[0011] Preferably, the Astragalus extract is obtained by extraction with a 55% (v / v) ethanol aqueous solution.

[0012] Preferably, the Astragalus extract is prepared by the following method: Take Astragalus membranaceus and extract it by heating and reflux at 70-80℃ with a 40-70% (v / v) ethanol aqueous solution for 1-3 hours. After extraction, separate the extract, concentrate and dry the extract to obtain Astragalus membranaceus alcohol extract. Take Astragalus membranaceus alcohol extract to obtain the Astragalus membranaceus extract.

[0013] Preferably, Astragalus membranaceus is extracted by heating and refluxing with a 55% (v / v) ethanol aqueous solution at 75°C for 2 hours. The extract is then concentrated and dried to obtain an Astragalus membranaceus alcohol extract, which is the Astragalus membranaceus extract mentioned above.

[0014] Preferably, the preparation method of the Astragalus extract further includes the following steps: loading the Astragalus alcohol extract onto an ODS chromatography column, first eluting with 3-6 column volumes of a 25-28% methanol aqueous solution, discarding the eluent obtained from the 25-28% methanol aqueous solution; then eluting again with 3-6 column volumes of a 43-45% methanol aqueous solution, collecting the eluent obtained from the 43-45% methanol aqueous solution, concentrating and drying to obtain the Astragalus extract.

[0015] Most preferably, the preparation method of the Astragalus extract further includes the following steps: loading the Astragalus alcohol extract onto an ODS chromatography column, first eluting with 5 column volumes of 27% methanol aqueous solution, discarding the eluent obtained from the 27% methanol aqueous solution; then eluting with 5 column volumes of 44% methanol aqueous solution, collecting the eluent obtained from the 44% methanol aqueous solution, concentrating and drying to obtain the Astragalus extract.

[0016] Further research by the inventors revealed that the combination of Astragalus extract obtained by further eluting Astragalus ethanol extract under the ODS column elution conditions described in this invention and Eucommia ulmoides leaf extract exhibits a significantly higher melanin-inhibiting effect than the combination obtained by combining Astragalus ethanol extract and Eucommia ulmoides leaf extract.

[0017] Preferably, the Eucommia ulmoides leaf extract is prepared by the following method: Eucommia ulmoides leaves are placed in a supercritical carbon dioxide extractor and extracted for 1-2 hours at an extraction pressure of 10-20 MPa, an extraction temperature of 30-40℃, and a carbon dioxide flow rate of 20-30 L / h; after extraction, the extract is taken to obtain the Eucommia ulmoides leaf extract.

[0018] Most preferably, the Eucommia ulmoides leaf extract is prepared by the following method: Eucommia ulmoides leaves are placed in a supercritical carbon dioxide extractor and extracted for 1.5 hours at an extraction pressure of 15 MPa, an extraction temperature of 35°C, and a carbon dioxide flow rate of 25 L / h; after extraction, the extract is taken to obtain the Eucommia ulmoides leaf extract.

[0019] The present invention also provides the application of the above-mentioned composition containing Astragalus extract in the preparation of a product having the effect of inhibiting melanin production.

[0020] The present invention also provides the application of the above-mentioned composition containing Astragalus extract in the preparation of products with whitening effects.

[0021] Beneficial effects: This invention provides a novel composition containing Astragalus extract; studies have shown that the composition obtained by combining Astragalus extract prepared by the method described in this invention with Eucommia ulmoides leaf extract has a good inhibitory effect on melanin production; therefore, using the composition containing Astragalus extract described in this invention as an active ingredient to prepare products with whitening effects has important application value. Detailed Implementation

[0022] The present invention will be further explained below with reference to specific embodiments, but the embodiments do not limit the scope of protection of the present invention.

[0023] Example 1: Preparation of a composition containing Astragalus extract The composition containing Astragalus extract is obtained by mixing Astragalus extract and Eucommia ulmoides leaf extract at a mass ratio of 4:3.

[0024] The Astragalus extract is prepared by the following method: Astragalus is taken and extracted by heating and reflux at 75°C for 2 hours with a 55% (v / v) ethanol aqueous solution. After extraction, the extract is separated, concentrated and dried to obtain Astragalus alcohol extract. The Astragalus alcohol extract is then obtained.

[0025] The Eucommia ulmoides leaf extract was prepared by the following method: Eucommia ulmoides leaves were placed in a supercritical carbon dioxide extractor and extracted for 1.5 h at an extraction pressure of 15 MPa, an extraction temperature of 35 °C, and a carbon dioxide flow rate of 25 L / h; after extraction, the extract was collected to obtain the Eucommia ulmoides leaf extract.

[0026] Example 2 Preparation of a composition containing Astragalus extract The composition containing Astragalus extract is obtained by mixing Astragalus extract and Eucommia ulmoides leaf extract at a mass ratio of 4:3.

[0027] The Astragalus extract is prepared by the following method: (1) Take Astragalus membranaceus and extract it by heating and reflux at 75°C for 2 hours with a 55% ethanol aqueous solution. After extraction, separate the extract, concentrate and dry the extract to obtain Astragalus membranaceus alcohol extract. (2) The Astragalus ethanol extract was loaded onto an ODS chromatography column and eluted with 5 column volumes of 27% methanol aqueous solution. The eluted fraction was discarded. Then, it was eluted with 5 column volumes of 44% methanol aqueous solution. The eluted fraction was collected, concentrated and dried to obtain the Astragalus extract.

[0028] The preparation method of the Eucommia ulmoides leaf extract is the same as in Example 1.

[0029] Comparative Example 1: Preparation of a composition containing Astragalus extract The composition containing Astragalus extract is obtained by mixing Astragalus extract and Eucommia ulmoides leaf extract at a mass ratio of 4:3.

[0030] The Astragalus extract is prepared by the following method: Astragalus is taken and extracted by heating and reflux at 75°C for 2 hours with a 55% (v / v) ethanol aqueous solution. After extraction, the extract is separated, concentrated and dried to obtain Astragalus alcohol extract. The Astragalus alcohol extract is then obtained.

[0031] The Eucommia ulmoides leaf extract was prepared by the following method: Eucommia ulmoides leaves were extracted by heating and refluxing with a 55% (v / v) ethanol aqueous solution at 75°C for 2 hours. After extraction, the extract was separated, concentrated and dried to obtain the Eucommia ulmoides leaf ethanol extract. The Eucommia ulmoides leaf extract was obtained by taking the Eucommia ulmoides leaf ethanol extract.

[0032] Comparative Example 2: Preparation of Compositions Containing Astragalus Extract The composition containing Astragalus extract is obtained by mixing Astragalus extract and Eucommia ulmoides leaf extract at a mass ratio of 4:3.

[0033] The Astragalus extract is prepared by the following method: Astragalus is taken and extracted with water under reflux at 75°C for 2 hours. After extraction, the extract is separated, concentrated and dried to obtain Astragalus aqueous extract. The Astragalus aqueous extract is then obtained.

[0034] The Eucommia ulmoides leaf extract was prepared by the following method: Eucommia ulmoides leaves were placed in a supercritical carbon dioxide extractor and extracted for 1.5 h at an extraction pressure of 15 MPa, an extraction temperature of 35 °C, and a carbon dioxide flow rate of 25 L / h; after extraction, the extract was collected to obtain the Eucommia ulmoides leaf extract.

[0035] Comparative Example 3: Preparation of Compositions Containing Astragalus Extract The composition containing Astragalus extract is obtained by mixing Astragalus extract and Eucommia ulmoides leaf extract at a mass ratio of 4:3.

[0036] The Astragalus extract is prepared by the following method: (1) Take Astragalus membranaceus and extract it by heating and reflux at 75°C for 2 hours with a 55% ethanol aqueous solution. After extraction, separate the extract, concentrate and dry the extract to obtain Astragalus membranaceus alcohol extract. (2) The Astragalus ethanol extract was loaded onto an ODS chromatography column and eluted with 5 column volumes of 10% methanol aqueous solution. The eluent eluted with 10% methanol aqueous solution was discarded. Then, it was eluted with 5 column volumes of 25% methanol aqueous solution. The eluent eluted with 25% methanol aqueous solution was collected, concentrated and dried to obtain the Astragalus extract.

[0037] The preparation method of the Eucommia ulmoides leaf extract is the same as in Example 1.

[0038] Example 4 Preparation of a composition containing Astragalus extract The composition containing Astragalus extract is obtained by mixing Astragalus extract and Eucommia ulmoides leaf extract at a mass ratio of 4:3.

[0039] The Astragalus extract is prepared by the following method: (1) Take Astragalus membranaceus and extract it by heating and reflux at 75°C for 2 hours with a 55% ethanol aqueous solution. After extraction, separate the extract, concentrate and dry the extract to obtain Astragalus membranaceus alcohol extract. (2) The Astragalus ethanol extract was loaded onto an ODS chromatography column and eluted with 5 column volumes of 50% methanol aqueous solution. The eluent eluted with 50% methanol aqueous solution was discarded. Then, it was eluted with 5 column volumes of 70% methanol aqueous solution. The eluent eluted with 70% methanol aqueous solution was collected, concentrated and dried to obtain the Astragalus extract.

[0040] The preparation method of the Eucommia ulmoides leaf extract is the same as in Example 1.

[0041] Experimental example: Melanin synthesis inhibition experiment HEM-L human epidermal melanocytes were used at a concentration of 1×10 5 Cells were inoculated at a rate of 1 / mL into 96-well plates containing melanocyte culture medium and cultured for 24 h, after which the culture medium was discarded. Next, 0.1 mg / mL of the test composition was added to each well of the experimental group, along with melanocyte culture medium containing no test composition. The blank control group was cultured in melanocyte culture medium without the test composition for another 48 h, after which the supernatant was discarded and the cells were washed with PBS. Six replicates were set up for each group. Three replicates from each group were used to add 80 μL of 2 mol / L sodium hydroxide solution to each well and lyse at 90 °C for 60 min. After lysis, the absorbance (OD value) of each well at 490 nm was measured. The remaining three replicates from each group were used to calculate the cell count. The melanin production inhibition rate was calculated as follows: Melanin production inhibition rate (%) = [1 - (OD value of the test composition group / cell count of the test composition group) / (OD value of the blank control group / cell count of the blank control group)] × 100%. The test results are shown in Table 1.

[0042] The test compositions refer to the compositions containing Astragalus extract prepared in Examples 1-2 and Comparative Examples 1-4, respectively. Table 1. Melanin production inhibition rate of the composition containing Astragalus extract of the present invention Melanin production inhibition rate The composition containing Astragalus extract prepared in Example 1 72.8% The composition containing Astragalus extract prepared in Example 2 98.5% The composition containing Astragalus extract prepared in Comparative Example 1 52.4% The composition containing Astragalus extract prepared in Comparative Example 2 55.6% The composition containing Astragalus extract prepared in Comparative Example 3 77.3% The composition containing Astragalus extract prepared in Comparative Example 4 75.1% As can be seen from the experimental results in Table 1, the melanin production inhibition rate of the composition containing Astragalus extract prepared in Example 1 reached 72.8%; this indicates that the composition obtained by combining Astragalus extract and Eucommia ulmoides leaf extract prepared by the method described in this invention has a good inhibitory effect on melanin production.

[0043] As can be seen from the experimental results in Table 1, the melanin production inhibition rate of the composition containing Astragalus membranaceus extract prepared in Example 1 is significantly higher than that of the compositions containing Astragalus membranaceus extract prepared in Comparative Examples 1 and 2. This indicates that the composition obtained by combining Astragalus membranaceus extract extracted with 55% ethanol aqueous solution and Eucommia ulmoides leaf extract obtained by supercritical carbon dioxide extraction has a significantly higher melanin production inhibition effect than the composition obtained by combining Astragalus membranaceus extract obtained by other methods and Eucommia ulmoides leaf extract obtained by other methods. This also indicates that only the composition obtained by combining Astragalus membranaceus extract extracted with 55% ethanol aqueous solution and Eucommia ulmoides leaf extract obtained by supercritical carbon dioxide extraction has a good melanin production inhibition effect; however, the composition obtained by combining Astragalus membranaceus extract obtained by other methods and Eucommia ulmoides leaf extract obtained by other methods does not have a good melanin production inhibition effect.

[0044] As can be seen from the experimental results in Table 1, the melanin production inhibition rate of the composition containing Astragalus extract prepared in Example 2 is significantly higher than that of the composition containing Astragalus extract prepared in Example 1.

[0045] This indicates that the combination of Astragalus extract obtained by further eluting Astragalus ethanol extract under the ODS column elution conditions of the present invention and Astragalus leaf extract has a significantly higher inhibitory effect on melanin production than the combination of Astragalus ethanol extract and Astragalus leaf extract.

[0046] The experimental results in Table 1 also show that the melanin production inhibition rate of the compositions containing Astragalus extract prepared in Comparative Examples 3 and 4 was not significantly higher than that of the composition containing Astragalus extract prepared in Example 1; the increase was much smaller than that of the composition containing Astragalus extract prepared in Example 2. This indicates that only the combination of Astragalus extract obtained by further eluting the Astragalus ethanol extract under the ODS column elution conditions of this invention and the resulting composition with Eucommia ulmoides leaf extract can significantly inhibit melanin production more effectively than the combination of Astragalus ethanol extract and Eucommia ulmoides leaf extract alone. However, the combination of Astragalus extract obtained by eluting the Astragalus ethanol extract under other ODS column elution conditions and the resulting composition with Eucommia ulmoides leaf extract cannot significantly inhibit melanin production more effectively than the combination of Astragalus ethanol extract and Eucommia ulmoides leaf extract alone.

Claims

1. A composition containing Astragalus membranaceus extract, characterized in that, Contains astragalus extract and eucommia leaf extract; The Astragalus extract was obtained by extraction with an ethanol-water solution; The Eucommia ulmoides leaf extract was obtained by supercritical carbon dioxide extraction.

2. The composition containing Astragalus extract according to claim 1, characterized in that, The mass ratio of Astragalus membranaceus extract to Eucommia ulmoides leaf extract is 1-5:1-5.

3. The composition containing Astragalus extract according to claim 1, characterized in that, The mass ratio of Astragalus membranaceus extract to Eucommia ulmoides leaf extract is 4:

3.

4. The composition containing Astragalus extract according to claim 1, characterized in that, The Astragalus extract was obtained by extraction with an ethanol aqueous solution of 50-70% by volume.

5. The composition containing Astragalus extract according to claim 1, characterized in that, The Astragalus extract was obtained by extraction with a 55% (v / v) ethanol aqueous solution.

6. The composition containing Astragalus extract according to claim 1, characterized in that, The Astragalus extract is prepared by the following method: Take Astragalus membranaceus and extract it by heating and reflux at 70-80℃ with a 40-70% (v / v) ethanol aqueous solution for 1-3 hours. After extraction, separate the extract, concentrate and dry the extract to obtain Astragalus membranaceus alcohol extract. Take Astragalus membranaceus alcohol extract to obtain the Astragalus membranaceus extract.

7. The composition containing Astragalus extract according to claim 4, characterized in that, Astragalus membranaceus was extracted by heating and refluxing with a 55% (v / v) ethanol aqueous solution at 75°C for 2 hours. The extract was then concentrated and dried to obtain the ethanol extract of Astragalus membranaceus. The ethanol extract of Astragalus membranaceus is the Astragalus membranaceus extract mentioned above.

8. The composition containing Astragalus extract according to claim 1, characterized in that, The Eucommia ulmoides leaf extract was prepared by the following method: Eucommia ulmoides leaves were placed in a supercritical carbon dioxide extractor and extracted for 1-2 hours at an extraction pressure of 10-20 MPa, an extraction temperature of 30-40℃, and a carbon dioxide flow rate of 20-30 L / h; after extraction, the extract was collected to obtain the Eucommia ulmoides leaf extract.

9. The use of the composition containing Astragalus extract according to any one of claims 1-8 in the preparation of a product having the effect of inhibiting melanin production.

10. The use of the composition containing Astragalus extract according to any one of claims 1-8 in the preparation of a product having a whitening effect.