Identification of the main component of a rambutan leaf extract responsible for the stimulation of collagen 1 on human keratinocytes

Considering the growing environmental consciousness of consumers in the Cosmetics industry, we have launched a program based on the sustainable development of Rambutan, a well-known tree in Asia. We have developed a bioactive ingredient based on Rambutan leaves to answer one of the major demands of the Cosmetics market: anti-aging. This bioactive ingredient has proven its efficiency on the formation in vitro on collagen and elastic fibers.

In our study, we identified the chemical component of the rambutan leaves that may be responsible at least in part for its anti-aging activity.

We observed that Rambutan leaves are rich in polyphenols, and especially in ellagitannins (hydrolysable tannins). Among C-glucosidic ellagitannins, the presence of Corilagin (CAS: 23094-69-1, C27H24O18 [1]) was established by various methods (HPLC PDA, LC MS) and a molecular profile of extract was investigated with an innovative method using a dereplication procedure based on the interpretation of NMR data. To confirm our hypothesis, we tested the Corilagin molecule on normal human keratinocytes in vitro. Corilagin stimulated the synthesis of collagen I in vitro on cell culture.

Using various analytical methods, we were able to identify the major component of the bioactive that may be responsible for the anti-aging activity.

Fig. 1 Chemical structure of Corilagin.

• References

• 1 Li X, Deng Y, Zhizhong Zheng Z, Wen Huang W, Chen L, Tong Q. etal. Corilagin, a promising medicinal herbal agent. Biomed & Pharm 2018; 99: 43