Potential Use of Indonesian Medicinal Plants for Cosmetic and Oral Health: A Review

Abstract

Medicinal plants have gained much importance in cosmetic development due to their abundant bioactive compounds and relatively fewer side effects. Indonesia comprises a diverse range of medicinal plants, along with multiple ethnicities and cultures. For decades, Indonesian traditional medicinal plants, known as jamu, had been utilized for skin care, skin whitening, and oral health. In the present review, several Indonesian medicinal plants have been discussed in relation to their potency for cosmetic and oral health. Recent scientific evidences showed that medicinal plants reviewed in this paper have the appropriate bioactivities with the major requirements for cosmetic and oral health including antioxidant, antiglycation, skin whitening via tyrosinase inhibitor and melanogenesis inhibition, antiacne activities (against Propionibacterium acnes and Staphylococcus epidermidis) and biofilm degradation against Streptococcus mutans, Staphylococcus aureus and Candida albicans. One of plant, namely Zingiber officinale reported having all of those requirements indicating the most potential for cosmetic and oral health agents. In summary, further research on Indonesian medicinal plants should be conducted to provide holistic knowledge for the development of cosmetic and oral health products.

Keywords

• cosmetic
• oral health
• antioxidant
• skin whitening
• biofilm