Skin-lightening Metabolites in Achillea filipendulina: Comparative Phytochemical and Bioactivity Profiling of Extracts from Shoot Cultures and Field-grown Plants.

ABSTRACT: Achillea filipendulina, a polyphenol-rich species, was used to establish in vitro shoot cultures and to compare their phytochemical and biological properties with those of field-grown material. In vitro shoots cultivated on agar medium (AFiv) and in Plantform bioreactors (AFB) were extracted with ethanol, 50% ethanol, or water and evaluated alongside extracts from field-grown plants (AFH). HPLC-ESI-QTOF-MS/MS profiling revealed 37 phenolic constituents. At the same time, quantitative analysis by LC-MS confirmed that chlorogenic acid was the major compound, reaching the highest concentrations in AFH and AFB ethanol-based extracts. In contrast, AFiv samples contained lower but consistently detectable levels. Similarly, p-hydroxybenzoic acid, quercetin, and rutin were quantified above LOQ in nearly all samples, with their highest amounts in AFH EtOH and 50% EtOH extracts and the lowest levels in AFiv H2O extracts, demonstrating clear solvent- and biomass-dependent variation.

ABSTRACT: AFH extracts showed the strongest antioxidant activity (IC50 50% EtOH=30.1; TPC = 1.32 mg GAE/g DW), while AFiv and AFB displayed lower TPC (0.36 - 0.38 and 0.19 - 0.30 mg GAE/g DW) and weaker activity (IC50 = 254 µg/mL and ≥ 1000 µg/mL). In tyrosinase assays, AFiv extracts were the most potent, inhibiting murine tyrosinase by 56.8 - 62.8% and human tyrosinase by 17.6 - 29.9%, comparable to kojic acid, whereas AFH and AFB demonstrated weaker or selective inhibition.

ABSTRACT: Cytotoxicity testing showed that AFH extracts reduced HaCaT viability by 25 - 38%, while AFiv and AFB were non-cytotoxic and exhibited reduced or no cytotoxicity toward melanoma cells. Moreover, technological validation of the most potent AFiv 50EtOH extract within model O/W and W/O emulsions demonstrated exceptional 30-day physicochemical stability and compatibility.