Abstract—Arbutin is a natural skin-whitening agent as a tyrosinase inhibitor. Arbutin could effectively inhibit the activity of tyrosinase in skin cells and block the formation of melanin without affecting cell proliferation. In the development of drugs, such as arbutin derivatives, a simulation of interactions between tyrosinase enzymes as the target proteins with ligands (arbutin derivatives) is required, by using molecular docking simulation method. Preparation of ligands and proteins was performed using AutoDock 4.2. The results show that α-arbutin derivatives (α-arbutin-undecylinate ester and deoxy-α-arbutin) is able to inhibit a tyrosinase.

Index Terms—Arbutin, molecular docking, tyrosinase inhibitor, hyperpigmentation.

Ayu Masyita is with Postgraduate Student, Faculty of Pharmacy, Hasanuddin University, Makassar, Indonesia.
Yusnita Rifai is with Pharmaceutical Chemistry Laboratory, Faculty of Pharmacy, Hasanuddin University, Makassar, Indonesia (email: yusnitarifai@gmail.com).

Cite: Ayu Masyita, Yusnita Rifai, "Molecular Docking Studies of Arbutin Derivatives as Tyrosinase Inhibitors," International Journal of Bioscience, Biochemistry and Bioinformatics vol. 9, no. 3, pp. 188-193, 2019.