ARBUTIN

Details

Stereochemistry	ABSOLUTE
Molecular Formula	C12H16O7
Molecular Weight	272.2512
Optical Activity	UNSPECIFIED
Defined Stereocenters	5 / 5
E/Z Centers	0
Charge	0

SHOW SMILES / InChI

Structure Search

SMILES

OC[C@H]1O[C@@H](OC2=CC=C(O)C=C2)[C@H](O)[C@@H](O)[C@@H]1O

InChI

InChIKey=BJRNKVDFDLYUGJ-RMPHRYRLSA-N

InChI=1S/C12H16O7/c13-5-8-9(15)10(16)11(17)12(19-8)18-7-3-1-6(14)2-4-7/h1-4,8-17H,5H2/t8-,9-,10+,11-,12-/m1/s1

HIDE SMILES / InChI

Molecular Formula	C12H16O7
Molecular Weight	272.2512
Charge	0
Count

Stereochemistry	ABSOLUTE
Additional Stereochemistry	No
Defined Stereocenters	5 / 5
E/Z Centers	0
Optical Activity	UNSPECIFIED

Description
Sources: https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/?term=18789053
Curator's Comment: http://www.fda.gov/ohrms/dockets/dockets/95s0316/rpt0071_01.pdf; https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/2179048; https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/27129306

Arbutin, the beta-D-glucopyranoside of hydroquinone, is a skin whitening cosmetic ingredient. Compared with hydroquinone, arbutin is a less potent skin hyperpigmentation agent, but less toxic. Arbutin is found in a number of edible berry-producing plants such as blueberry and cranberry, marjoram, and most pear species. Chinchircoma (Muticia acuminatai) that contains arbutin, has been traditionally used by South American populations internally the fresh juice is used for gastric ulcers and internal tumors; the water of boiled leaves and flowers for illness of the respiratory tract; for hearth disorders or pain. According to pharmacological results in vitro, liver protective effects as well as anti-inflammatory activity were proven. It can also be beneficial for asthma and other anaphylactic reactions. This plant is component of the lsula Rain’s botanical products (Peru): ‘I-Day Digestive Cleanse #2.Herbal Supplement approved by FDA. As a hyperpigmentation agent arbutin inhibits tyrosinase and thus prevents the formation of melanin.

Approval Year

Targets

Primary Target	Pharmacology	Condition	Potency
Tyrosinase 41 Target ID: P14679 Gene ID: 7299.0 Gene Symbol: TYR Target Organism: Homo sapiens (Human) Sources: https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/25932370	Inhibitor 8504		0.04 mM [IC50]

Conditions

Condition	Modality	Targets	Highest Phase	Product
Skin pigmentation 4 Sources: http://instantbeauty.instantfigure.com/Alpha-Arbutin-Cream	Primary		Approved 8583	Alpha Arbutin Cream Approved Use Cream for skin lightening Alpha Arbutin ensures an even and lighter skin tone, reduces the degree of skin tanning after UV exposure, and it also helps to minimize the appearance of liver spots.

C_max

Value	Dose	Co-administered	Analyte	Population
1125 nmol/mL EXPERIMENT https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/12162475/	210 mg single, oral dose: 210 mg route of administration: Oral experiment type: SINGLE co-administered:		HYDROQUINONE urine	Homo sapiens population: HEALTHY age: ADULT sex: FEMALE / MALE food status: FASTED
1689.3 nmol/mL EXPERIMENT https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/12162475/	210 mg single, oral dose: 210 mg route of administration: Oral experiment type: SINGLE co-administered:		HYDROQUINONE urine	Homo sapiens population: HEALTHY age: ADULT sex: FEMALE / MALE food status: FASTED

Doses

Dose	Population	Adverse events
800 mg single, oral Highest studied dose Dose: 800 mg Route: oral Route: single Dose: 800 mg Sources: https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/5462432/	healthy, ADULT Health Status: healthy Age Group: ADULT Sex: unknown Food Status: UNKNOWN Sources: https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/5462432/	Sources: https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/5462432/

Overview

CYP3A4	CYP2C9	CYP2D6	hERG
inducer 1087	inhibitor 2438	inhibitor 2507	inhibitor 2217

OverviewOther

Other Inhibitor	Other Substrate	Other Inducer
OATP1B3 961 OATP1B1 1079 CYP19A1 429 CYP2C19 2057 CYP1A2 2153	P-gp 2052

Drug as perpetrator

Target	Modality	Activity
CYP3A4 2633	inducer 1966 Sources: https://pubchem.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/compound/440936#section=Biological-Test-Results Page: 6.0	inconclusive [EC50 28.1838 uM]
CYP2D6 2546	inhibitor 4027 Sources: https://pubchem.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/compound/440936#section=Biological-Test-Results Page: 8.0	inconclusive [IC50 43.6486 uM]
CYP19A1 430	inhibitor 4027 Sources: https://pubchem.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/compound/440936#section=Biological-Test-Results Page: 189.0	no
CYP1A2 2333	inhibitor 4027 Sources: https://pubchem.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/compound/440936#section=Biological-Test-Results Page: 281.0	no
CYP2C19 2141	inhibitor 4027 Sources: https://pubchem.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/compound/440936#section=Biological-Test-Results Page: 281.0	no
CYP2C9 2497	inhibitor 4027 Sources: https://pubchem.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/compound/440936#section=Biological-Test-Results Page: 271.0	no
OATP1B1 1095	inhibitor 4027 Sources: https://www.ebi.ac.uk/chembl/g/#browse/activities/full_state/eyJsaXN0Ijp7InNldHRpbmdzX3BhdGgiOiJFU19JTkRFWEVTX05PX01BSU5fU0VBUkNILkFDVElWSVRZIiwiY3VzdG9tX3F1ZXJ5IjoidGFyZ2V0X2NoZW1ibF9pZDpDSEVNQkwxNjk3NjY4IiwidXNlX2N1c3RvbV9xdWVyeSI6dHJ1ZSwic2VhcmNoX3Rlcm0iOiIiLCJ0ZXh0X2ZpbHRlciI6IkNIRU1CTDIzMjIwMiJ9fQ==	yes [Inhibition 10 uM]
OATP1B3 970	inhibitor 4027 Sources: https://www.ebi.ac.uk/chembl/g/#browse/activities/full_state/eyJsaXN0Ijp7InNldHRpbmdzX3BhdGgiOiJFU19JTkRFWEVTX05PX01BSU5fU0VBUkNILkFDVElWSVRZIiwiY3VzdG9tX3F1ZXJ5IjoidGFyZ2V0X2NoZW1ibF9pZDpDSEVNQkwxNzQzMTIxIiwidXNlX2N1c3RvbV9xdWVyeSI6dHJ1ZSwic2VhcmNoX3Rlcm0iOiIiLCJ0ZXh0X2ZpbHRlciI6IkNIRU1CTDIzMjIwMiJ9fQ==	yes [Inhibition 10 uM]

Drug as victim

Target	Modality	Activity	Metabolite	Clinical evidence
P-gp 2052	substrate 4014 Sources: https://pubchem.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/compound/440936#section=Biological-Test-Results Page: 238 \| 241	no

Tox targets

Target	Modality	Activity	Metabolite	Clinical evidence
hERG 2263	inhibitor 2237 Sources: https://pubchem.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/compound/440936#section=Biological-Test-Results Page: 77.0

PubMed

Title	Date	PubMed
Involvement of the p38 MAPK and ERK signaling pathway in the anti-melanogenic effect of methyl 3,5-dicaffeoyl quinate in B16F10 mouse melanoma cells.	2012-08-30	22705713
Screening medicinal plants for the detection of novel antimalarial products applying the inhibition of β-hematin formation.	2011-12-15	21872416
Novel screening method for potential skin-whitening compounds by a luciferase reporter assay.	2010	21071833
Characterization of dimers of hydroquinone glucosides produced by peroxidase-catalyzed polymerization.	2007-04	17420575
Toxicogenomics of A375 human malignant melanoma cells treated with arbutin.	2007-01	17103032
Mutagenicity of arbutin in mammalian cells after activation by human intestinal bacteria.	2006-11	16904805

Patents

Sample Use Guides

In Vivo Use Guide

For the first 2 weeks use twice a day on cleansed skin (morning and night) then resume to once a day there after

Route of Administration: Topical

In Vitro Use Guide

Effects of isolated from Salvia officinalis compounds on melanin biosynthesis and cell proliferation of B16 melanoma cells were studied using arbutin as a positive control at a concentration of 100 mg/ml. Cells were incubated for 48 h with a test compound. Arbutin showed 49.3% melanin content at a concentration of 100 ug/ml keeping cell viability at 86.5%.

Substance Class	Chemical Created by `admin` on `Mon Mar 31 17:54:35 GMT 2025` Edited by `admin` on `Mon Mar 31 17:54:35 GMT 2025`
Record UNII	C5INA23HXF
Record Status	`Validated (UNII)`
Record Version

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Name

Type

Language

ARBUTIN

Official Name

English

ARBUTINUM

Preferred Name

English

ARBUTINUM [HPUS]

Common Name

English

ARBUTIN [HSDB]

Common Name

English

Arbutin [WHO-DD]

Common Name

English

HYDROQUINONE GLUCOSE

Systematic Name

English

ARBUTIN [MI]

Common Name

English

HYDROQUINONE-.BETA.-D-GLUCOPYRANOSIDE

Common Name

English

ARBUTOSIDE

Common Name

English

4-HYDROXYPHENYL-.BETA.-D-GLUCOPYRANOSIDE

Common Name

English

NSC-4036

Code

English

ARBUTIN [MART.]

Common Name

English

URSIN

Common Name

English

Classification Tree Code System Code

NCI_THESAURUS

C471