Two Cosmetic Properties of an Ethanol Extract of a Cultured and Edible Red Macroalga, Bangia fuscopurpurea: Moisturizing and Whitening Effects

Previous studies have focused on the role of a cultured red macroalga Bangia fuscopurpurea as a functional food; however, except for antioxidant activity, there are no reports directly regarding the potential cosmetic properties of this alga. Our present study explored the moisturizing effect of its ethanol extract (BFH1) and used the tyrosinase activity inhibition assay to evaluate its in vitro whitening effect. The in vitro moisture-retention ability of BFH1 was similar to that of glycerol (positive control), but its moisture-absorption ability was significantly higher. The overall in vivo moisturizing effect of topical application of BFH1 in mice was similar to that of glycerol, but BFH1 did not cause significant changes in the oil content of the skin, and there were no obvious side effects regarding skin appearance and external behavior during treatment. BFH1 exerted in vitro tyrosinase inhibitory activity with a half-maximal inhibitory concentration (IC50) of 48.3 μg/mL (IC50 of positive control, vitamin C: 19.6 μg/mL). The total phenolic content of BFH1 was determined as 10.8 % ± 0.07 %. Thus, BFH1 has high potential to be turned into a cosmetic ingredient with moisturizing and whitening effects.