TYROSINASE INHIBITORY AND ANTIOXIDANT ACTIVITY OF WILD ROSA CANINA L. AND SORBUS AUCUPARIA L. FRUIT EXTRACTS

In the present work, fruits from two plant species, Rosa canina L. and Sorbus aucuparia L., popular in traditional folk medicine in Serbia, were studied. The aim was to examine and compare the efficiency of the ultrasonic extraction with different solvents regarding physicochemical properties, polyphenolic profile of extracts, as well as their tyrosinase inhibitory and antioxidant activity. The polyphenols evaluation indicated that water was the best solvent for a thorough extraction of bioactive compounds from the R. canina fruits, while propylene glycol-water (45:55, v/v) was the most efficient regarding S. aucuparia fruits, followed by ethanol-water (7:3, v/v). Only flavonoids were more abundant in S. aucuparia fruit extracts. R. canina water extracts showed a higher antioxidant activity, using several in vitro tests with different working principles. However, S. aucuparia ultrasonic extracts with propylene glycol-water (45:55, v/v) demonstrated a higher potential concerning tyrosinase inhibitory and chelating activity. Therefore, these ultrasonic extracts, being great sources of natural anti-tyrosinase inhibitors and antioxidants, can be considered as promising candidates suitable for pharmaceutical application, as great sources of natural anti-tyrosinase inhibitors and antioxidants.