Assessment of the Potential Skin Application of Benth.

Benth. has widespread ethnobotanical use in African folk medicine for its medicinal properties in skin conditions. In this study, two different basic formulations containing extracts were prepared, one in an organic solvent and the other using water. The aqueous extract only contained rosmarinic acid (RA) at 2.02 mM, and the organic extract contained RA and parvifloron D at 0.29 and 3.13 mM, respectively. RA in aqueous solution permeated skin; however, in organic extract, this was not detected. Thus, aqueous extract was further studied and combined with benzophenone-4, which elevated the sun protection factor (SPF) by 19.49%. No significant cytotoxic effects were observed from the aqueous extract. The strain was used to determine a minimum inhibitory concentration (MIC) value of 10 µg.mL. The aqueous extract inhibited the activity of acetylcholinesterase by 59.14 ± 4.97%, and the IC value was 12.9 µg.mL. The association of the extract with a UV filter substantially elevated its SPF efficacy. Following the multiple bioactivities of the extract and its active substances, a finished product could be claimed as a multifunctional cosmeceutical with broad skin valuable effects, from UV protection to antiaging action.