Cosmeceutical activity of Myrcia neoobscura hydroalcoholic extract and its fractions

Myrcia neoobscura E.Lucas & C.E.Wilson, Myrtaceae is a subshrubby perennial species endemic to Brazil where it grows in the Northeast, Southeast, and South regions. In this study, cosmeceutical activity of several fractions of hydroalcoholic (70%) M. neoobscura extract was investigated. For preparation of samples, the plant material was twice macerated in ethanol 70% each time for seven days. The extracts were combined, filtered and evaporated. The obtained hydroalcoholic crude extract (CHE) was resuspended in 20% ethanol, stored at 4°C for 12 h and filtered to yield insoluble precipitate (IF) and the filtrate. The latter was partitioned in solvents of increasing polarity (hexane>dichloromethane>ethyl acetate), yielding hexane, dichloromethane (discarded), ethyl acetate (EAF) and aqueous fraction (AF). Cosmeceutical activity of the crude extract and the fractions was investigated as the inhibitory activity on elastase, collagenase, lypoxygenase, and tyrosinase. Results were expressed as the respective IC 50 values. The extracts demonstrated the activity in all the performed assays. The most active tyrosinase, collagenase, and lypoxygenase inhibitors were IF, EAF and CHE, respectively. While in most cases the activity was lower than the activity of the respective standard inhibitors, CHE (318.0 μg/mL±2.6 μg/mL) and AF (315.2 μg/mL±4.3 μg/mL) statistically reached the activity of ursolic acid (313.6 μg/mL±38.2 μg/mL) in the anti-elastase assay. Additional studies aiming at isolation of the compound(s) responsible for the observed activity may be desired to bring new knowledge on the cosmeceutical activity of M. neoobscura . Publication History Article published online: 05 March 2026 © 2026. Thieme. All rights reserved. Georg Thieme Verlag KG Oswald-Hesse-Straße 50, 70469 Stuttgart, Germany