Origanum vulgare L. has been used as a culinary ingredient worldwide. This study revealed the cosmeceutical potential of O. vulgare essential oil as a skin-ageing retardant. The O. vulgare essential oil from a highland area of a tropical country (HO), obtained by hydrodistillation was investigated and compared to a commercial oil from the Mediterranean region (CO). Their chemical compositions were investigated by gas chromatography-mass spectrometry. Antioxidant activities were investigated by ferric reducing antioxidant power, 1,1-diphenyl-2-picrylhydrazyl, and ferric thiocyanate assay. Anti-skin-ageing activities were determined by means of collagenase, elastase, and hyaluronidase inhibition. Carvacrol was the major component in both oils, but a higher amount was detected in HO (79.5%) than CO (64.6%). HO possessed comparable radical scavenging activity to CO (IC50 = 1.8 ± 0.8 mg/mL) but significantly higher lipid peroxidation inhibition (38.0 ± 0.8%). Carvacrol was remarked as the major compound responsible for the reducing power of both oils. Interestingly, HO possessed significant superior anti-skin-ageing activity than ascorbic acid (P < 0.01), with inhibition against collagenase, elastase, and hyaluronidase of 92.0 ± 9.7%, 53.1 ± 13.3%, and 16.7 ± 0.3%, at the concentration of 67, 25, and 4 µg/mL, respectively. Since HO possessed comparable anti-hyaluronidase activity to CO and superior anti-collagenase and anti-elastase (P < 0.01), HO was suggested to be used as a natural skin-ageing retardant in a cosmetic industry.
Keywords: Origanum vulgare; anti-skin-ageing; antioxidant; carvacrol; collagenase; elastase; gas chromatography–mass spectrometry; hyaluronidase.