Preparation of arbutin hydrogel formulation as green skin lightener formulation: in vitro and in vivo evaluation

Abstract

A hydrogel formulation containing arbutin was developed for use as a topical cosmetic product aimed at enhancing the anti-melanogenesis effect and skin delivery. To develop Arbutin-hydrogel, 1% arbutin was incorporated into a Chitosan/alginate hydrogel. The impacts of biopolymer proportion on the arbutin-hydrogel preparations were investigated. Swelling analysis, weight loss analysis, differential scanning calorimetry (DSC), scanning electron microscopy (SEM), attenuated total reflectance-Fourier transform infrared (ATR-FTIR) spectroscopy, toxicity study and, skin absorption test were employed to assess the arbutin-hydrogel. The swelling percentages of arbutin-hydrogel increased significantly after 4 h. In vitro, cytotoxic activity revealed that arbutin-hydrogel has no toxicity. Also, the cutaneous penetration investigation revealed that arbutin-hydrogel had a superior cutaneous accumulation (42.25 ± 0.30%) compared to plain gel (16.80 ± 0.33%). Also, physico-chemical specifications assay and solid state assessment were employed to assess of optimum formulation. Arbutin-hydrogel (60.9 ± 1.68%) inhibited melanin formation more effectively than arbutin solution. In addition, arbutin-hydrogel exhibited a more inhibitory impact on L-dopa auto-oxidation (54.90 ± 2.26%) than arbutin solution (38.62 ± 2.26%). In addition, the Wistar rat cutaneous sensitivity testing demonstrated that the hydrogel component did not affect the epidermis. These outcomes demonstrated that the arbutin-hydrogel could potentially be utilized for Arbutin topical delivery, expanding the treatment options for hyperpigmentation disorders.

Keywords:

• Arbutin
• hyperpigmentation
• melanogenesis
• hydrogel

Acknowledgements

The authors also would wish to express their sincere and special appreciation to the research council of Mazandaran University of Medical Sciences, Sari, Iran, for their valuable and technical cooperation.

Author contribution

Zahra Rezanejad Gatabi: Methodology, Investigation, Writing original draft

Majid Saeedi: Supervision, review & editing

Katayoun Morteza-Semnani: Supervision

Seyyed Mohammad Hassan Hashemi: review & editing

Seyyed Mobin Rahimnia: Methodology, Investigation

Rezvan Yazdian-Robati: Methodology, Investigation

Disclosure statement

No potential conflict of interest was reported by the author(s).

Ethical approval

The Ethics approval board for Animal Investigation at MAZUMS provided their approval to all animal experiments which were granted a registration number = IR.NIMAD.REC.1401.045.

Data availability statement

All datasets generated for this study are included in the article.

Additional information

Funding

This work was funded by the Elite Researcher Grant Committee of the National Institutes for Medical Research Development (NIMAD) in Tehran, Iran, with grant number [4002337].