Planta Med 2014; 80 - PPL23
DOI: 10.1055/s-0034-1382659

Investigation of the instability of alpha and beta-arbutin

C Avonto 1, YH Wang 1, B Avula 1, M Wang 1, D Rua 3, IA Khan 1, 2, 4
  • 1National Center for Natural Products Research, Research Institute of Pharmaceutical Sciences, School of Pharmacy, The University of Mississippi, University, MS 38677, USA
  • 2Department of Pharmacognosy, School of Pharmacy, The University of Mississippi, University, MS 38677, USA
  • 3The Center for Food Safety and Applied Nutrition, US Food and Drug Administration, 5100 Paint Branch Parkway, College Park, MD 20740, USA
  • 4Department of Pharmacognosy, College of Pharmacy, King Saud University, Riyadh, Saudi Arabia

Arbutin is the D-glucose derivative of the aromatic compound hydroquinone. β-Arbutin occurs naturally in many species of the Ericaceae and Caprifoliaceae families. α-Arbutin is commonly produced by chemical or biotechnological routes. Both β- and α-arbutin became popular whitening agents because of their ability to interfere with the melanin synthesis in the skin, but they may represent a source of the hazardous compound hydroquinone in vivo or due to chemical decomposition. Because of this risk, both compounds have been investigated for the potential hydrolysis or anomerization using different solvents, pH and temperature. The degradation of arbutin in pear samples was also analyzed. The investigations were performed using diverse techniques, including 1H and 13C NMR, HPLC-DAD and optical rotation.