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Determination of Arbutin, Niacinamide, and Adenosine in


Functional Cosmetic Products by High-Performance Liquid
Chromatography

Article  in  Analytical Letters · July 2014


DOI: 10.1080/00032719.2014.883517

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Determination of Arbutin, Niacinamide,


and Adenosine in Functional Cosmetic
Products by High-Performance Liquid
Chromatography
a b b b a
Jong Sup Jeon , Myoung Jin Lee , Mi Hye Yoon , Jin-A Park ,
a a a
Hee Yi , Hee-Jung Cho & Ho-Chul Shin
a
Department of Veterinary Pharmacology and Toxicology, College of
Veterinary Medicine , Konkuk University , Seoul , Republic of Korea
b
Department of Health Research , Gyeonggi-do Research Institute of
Health and Environment , Gyeonggi-do , Republic of Korea
Accepted author version posted online: 24 Feb 2014.Published
online: 26 Jun 2014.

To cite this article: Jong Sup Jeon , Myoung Jin Lee , Mi Hye Yoon , Jin-A Park , Hee Yi , Hee-Jung Cho
& Ho-Chul Shin (2014) Determination of Arbutin, Niacinamide, and Adenosine in Functional Cosmetic
Products by High-Performance Liquid Chromatography, Analytical Letters, 47:10, 1650-1660, DOI:
10.1080/00032719.2014.883517

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Analytical Letters, 47: 1650–1660, 2014
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ISSN: 0003-2719 print=1532-236X online
DOI: 10.1080/00032719.2014.883517

Liquid Chromatography

DETERMINATION OF ARBUTIN, NIACINAMIDE, AND


ADENOSINE IN FUNCTIONAL COSMETIC PRODUCTS
BY HIGH-PERFORMANCE LIQUID CHROMATOGRAPHY

Jong Sup Jeon,1,2 Myoung Jin Lee,2 Mi Hye Yoon,2


Jin-A Park,1 Hee Yi,1 Hee-Jung Cho,1 and Ho-Chul Shin1
1
Department of Veterinary Pharmacology and Toxicology,
Downloaded by [211.114.22.105] at 21:08 30 June 2014

College of Veterinary Medicine, Konkuk University, Seoul,


Republic of Korea
2
Department of Health Research, Gyeonggi-do Research Institute of Health
and Environment, Gyeonggi-do, Republic of Korea

A reversed-phase high-performance liquid chromatography method using a diode array


detector at 260 nm was developed and validated for the determination of arbutin,
niacinamide, and adenosine in cosmetics. The analytes were extracted using methanol
and deionized water. The separations were performed on a C18 column with gradient
elution. At the optimized conditions, the limits of detection for arbutin, niacinamide, and
adenosine were 0.75, 0.12, and 0.01 lg/mL, respectively. The average recoveries were
between 98.1% and 107.5%. The method was used to analyze thirty cosmetics.

Keywords: Adenosine; Arbutin; Functional cosmetics; HPLC; Niacinamide

INTRODUCTION
Cosmetics are widely used to improve the appearance and health of skin.
Functional cosmetics (cosmeceuticals) are used to restore the structure and functions
of the body. Materials used include plant and animal extracts and marine materials
(Amit et al. 2007; Cha et al. 2010; Draelos 2012). According to the Korean Cosmetic
Act (Korea Ministry of Drug and Food Safety 2013) and the Korean Functional Cos-
metics Codex (Korea Ministry of Drug and Food Safety 2013), there are four cosmetic
group categories: whitening, antiwrinkle, ultraviolet protection, and combined whiten-
ing and antiwrinkle. Registered whitening agents include arbutin, niacinamide,
Broussonetia extract, glucoside, ascorbyl tetra isopalmitate, alpha-bisabolol, ethyl

Received 30 September 2013; accepted 5 January 2014.


Address correspondence to Ho-Chul Shin, Department of Veterinary Pharmacology and Toxicology,
College of Veterinary Medicine, Konkuk University, 1 Hwayang-dong, Gwangjin-gu, Seoul 143-701, Republic
of Korea. E-mail: hshin@konkuk.ac.kr
Color versions of one or more of the figures in the article can be found online at www.tandfonline.
com/lanl.

1650
ARBUTIN, NIACINAMIDE, AND ADENOSINE IN COSMETICS 1651

ascorbyl ether, and oil soluble Licorice (Glycyrrhiza) extract. Registered antiwrinkle
agents include retinol, retinyl palmitate, adenosine, and polyethoxylated retinamide.
Examples of ultraviolet protection agents are glyceryl paba, drometrizole, drometri-
zole trisiloxane, digalloyl trioleate, diethylamino hydroxybenzoyl hexyl benzoate,
and dimethicodiethylbenzal malonate. Combined whitening and antiwrinkle cosmetics
include five combinations in various formulations: arbutin=adenosine, niacinamide=
adenosine, oil soluble Licorice (Glycyrrhiza) extract=adenosine, ascobyl glucoside=
adenosine, and arbutin=retinol (Korea Ministry of Drug and Food Safety 2013;
2013). In market surveys, combined whitening and antiwrinkle cosmetics were shown
to contain two active ingredients, and other functional ingredients were added at low
levels to enhance the effect of the cosmetics (e.g., primary ingredients of arbutin and
adenosine with an extra ingredient, niacinamide). Therefore, this study is focused on
the determination of arbutin, niacinamide, and adenosine in functional cosmetics.
Arbutin was initially extracted from the leaves of bilberry (Vaccinicumvitis
idaca L). It is often used as a pharmaceutical substance to treat genitourinary infec-
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tious diseases (Pop, Vlase, and Tamas 2009) and also whitens skin because it can
control the formation of melanin by inhibiting tyrosinase. Arbutin is therefore
widely used as a skin-lightening agent in cosmetics (Wei et al. 2007; Saha 2012).
Niacinamide (Vitamin B3), also known as nicotinamide and nicotinic acid amide,
is a water-soluble vitamin (Saha 2012). Niacinamide is a powerful and well-tolerated
antioxidant and is thought to inhibit melanosome transfer from melanocytes to ker-
atinocytes, subsequently reducing melanin in the skin (Choi and Berson 2006;
Ramos-e-Silva et al. 2013). Therefore, niacinamide is used in skin lightening cosmetic
products. Moreover, Bissett et al. (2004) and Kawada et al. (2008) reported that top-
ical niacinamide treatments and cosmetics containing niacinamide have antiwrinkle
effects. Adenosine is a naturally occurring purine nucleoside formed by the break-
down of adenosine triphosphate (Xue et al. 2009) that also shows antiwrinkle
properties (Abella 2006).
Several methods have been reported for the determination of arbutin in
cosmetics by high-performance liquid chromatography (HPLC) (Huang et al.
2004; Cheng, Chen, and Zhu 2010; C. H. Lin, Wu, and Huang 2005; Wei et al.
2007; Masse et al. 2001; Thongchai, Liawruangrath, and Liawruangrath 2007;
Desmedt et al. 2013), gas chromatography–mass spectrometry (Chisvert et al.
2010), capillary zone electrophoresis (Y. H. Lin, Yang, and Wu 2007), micellar elec-
trokinetic capillary chromatography with amperometric detection (Jin et al. 2013),
and online derivatization followed by disposable electrochemical sensing (Zen et al.
2011). Methods for the determination of niacinamide in cosmetics using HPLC (C.
H. Lin, Wu, and Huang 2007; Cheng, Chen, and Zhu 2010; Yang et al. 2011) and
micellar electrokinetic capillary chromatography with field-amplified sample injec-
tion (Sun and Wu 2013) have been reported. Additionally, the determination of
alpha-arbutin, beta-arbutin, and niacinamide in cosmetics has been demonstrated
using HPLC (Cheng, Chen, and Zhu 2010) and ultra-high pressure liquid chromato-
graphy (Desmedt et al. 2013). C. Y. Chang, Lue, and Pan (2005) determined
adenosine in cultivated Antrodia camphorata (a native species in Taiwan) by HPLC,
and Xue et al. (2009) reported HPLC determination of adenosine in royal jelly.
However, there have been few studies reported concerning HPLC methods for
determining adenosine in functional cosmetic products.
1652 J. S. JEON ET AL.

To date, no detailed reports of the determination of arbutin, niacinamide, and


adenosine in cosmetic products are available. Here, a simple and useful method for
these analytes was developed for quality control of functional cosmetics.

EXPERIMENTAL
Materials
Thirty commercial functional cosmetics were purchased from local supermar-
kets and cosmetic shops. The formulations included twelve creams, two lotions, and
sixteen emulsions. The samples were classified based on their active ingredients:
whitening, arbutin and niacinamide; anti-wrinkle, adenosine; and whitening and
antiwrinkle: arbutin and adenosine or niacinamide and adenosine.
Arbutin, niacinamide, and adenosine were purchased from Sigma-Aldrich (St.
Louis, MO, USA), Wako (Osaka, Japan), and Fluka (Buchs, Switzerland), respect-
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ively. Methanol (HPLC grade) was purchased from J.T. Baker (Griesheim,
Germany). Ultra-purified water was deionized by a Nanopure Diamond (Barnstead
International, Dubuque, IA, USA) and used to prepare solutions. Prepared mobile
phases for HPLC were passed through 0.4-mm nylon membrane filters (Advantec,
Tokyo, Japan) and sonicated. The standard and sample solutions were passed
through a 0.20-mm PTFE syringe filters (Advantec, Tokyo, Japan) and centrifuged
using a Sigma 2–6 (Sigma Laborzentrifugen GmbH, Osterode am Harz, Germany).
Stock solutions were prepared by dissolving 120 mg of arbutin, 120 mg of nia-
cinamide, and 2.4 mg of adenosine in deionized water in 50-mL amber volumetric
flasks. Calibration curves were prepared by dilution of the stock solutions (arbutin
and niacinamide, 0.40–48 mg=mL; adenosine, 0.008–0.96 mg=mL). Solutions for
method validation were prepared by diluting the stock to the appropriate concen-
tration. Standard were prepared immediately before use and stored at 4 C.
Cosmetic samples, 0.1 g (equivalent to 2 mg of arbutin, 2 mg of niacinamide,
and 0.04 mg of adenosine), were transferred to 50-mL polypropylene centrifuge tubes
and mixed with 5 mL of methanol. After vortex mixing, the solutions were sonicated
for 10 min, and deionized water was added to 50 mL followed by vortex mixing. The
sample solutions were then centrifuged for 20 min at 3500 rpm and passed through
0.20-mm Teflon syringe filters prior to analysis.

Instrumentation
Chromatography was performed using an Agilent 1260 Infinity Series HPLC
system (Agilent Technologies, Waldbronn, Germany) with an in-line vacuum degas-
ser, binary pump, an autosampler, a temperature-controlled column compartment,
and a diode array detector (DAD). System control, data acquisition, and data pro-
cessing were accomplished using OpenLAB CDS Chemstation C.01.05 (Agilent
Technologies, Santa Clara, CA, USA). The chromatographic conditions were opti-
mized using a Cogent HPSTM C18 column (150 mm  4.6 mm i.d., 5 mm particle size,
MicroSolv Technology Corporation, Eatontown, NJ, USA) at 30 C. The standard
and sample solutions were separated using stepwise gradient mobile phase conditions
consisting of deionized water (A) and methanol (B): 0–5 min, 5% B (v=v); 5–15 min,
ARBUTIN, NIACINAMIDE, AND ADENOSINE IN COSMETICS 1653

35% B (v=v); 15–25 min, 5% B (v=v); and 25–30 min, 5% B (v=v). The flow rate was set
at 1.0 mL=min, and the injection volume was 10 mL. The detector wavelength was set
to 260 nm.

Method Validation
After an analytical method is developed, validation is conducted to prove its
analytical value (Shabir et al. 2007). The developed method was validated to ensure
the reliability of the analysis results in terms of accuracy, precision, specificity, limit
of quantization (LOQ), limit of detection (LOD), linearity, and linear dynamic range
(U.S. Pharmacopeia 2009). Accuracy was evaluated through recovery experiments
by spiking the samples with standards at three levels (30%, 60%, and 120%). The
precision of the method was evaluated for intra- and inter-day precision at three
levels (80%, 1005, and 120%) in samples. To evaluate the specificity of the method,
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blank samples were analyzed by HPLC. The LODs and LOQs were determined at
signal-to-noise ratios of 3:1 and 10:1, respectively. Ten mixed standard solutions
were prepared to evaluate linearity by regression analysis.

RESULTS AND DISCUSSION


Extraction Conditions
Arbutin, niacinamide, and adenosine are water soluble (hydrophilic) com-
pounds (Xue et al. 2009; Otte, Borelli, and Korting 2005; M. L. Chang and Chang
2003). Cosmetics include many ingredients, such as waxes, oils, and pigments
(Winter 2009) that are lipophilic and do not dissolve in water. To extract the analytes
and fully disperse the sample, cosmetics (0.1 g) were dissolved in 5 mL of methanol in
a 50-mL centrifuge tube, followed by sonication to disperse the lipophilic mixture.
Deionized water was added to 50 mL, and the solutions were vortexed and centri-
fuged. As the percentage of methanol in the extraction solutions increased (from
10% to 50% methanol), the arbutin HPLC peak shape was distorted (results not
shown). M. L. Chang and Chang (2003) determined hydrophilic whitening agents
in cosmetic cream. Cheng, Chen, and Zhu (2010) and Thongchai, Liawruangrath,
and Liawruangrath (2007) used a mixture of salt water and chloroform (2:1, v=v)
and 100% methanol, respectively, as sample extraction solutions for the determi-
nation of functional ingredients in cosmetics. In this study, the cosmetics did not dis-
solve in distilled water. Consequently, to develop an effective method that uses less
solvent, the first extraction used methanol (5 mL) followed by deionized water (to
50 mL).

Optimization of Chromatographic Conditions


To improve the separation, several gradient systems were investigated. A gradi-
ent consisting of 0–5 min, 5% methanol; 5–15 min, 35% methanol; 15–25 min, 5%
methanol; and 25–30 min, 5% methanol was selected as optimum for the determi-
nation of the arbutin, niacinamide, and adenosine in functional cosmetics.
1654 J. S. JEON ET AL.
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Figure 1. Chromatograms of cosmetic cream spiked with arbutin, niacinamide, and adenosine.
Chromatograms were at the same scale to show changes in absorbance with detector wavelength: (a)
220 nm; (b) 260 nm; and (c) 280 nm. Peaks: (1) arbutin (40 mg=mL), (2) niacinamide (40 mg=mL), and
(3) adenosine (0.8 mg=mL).

The maximum absorbances of arbutin, niacinamide, and adenosine were at 220


and 282 nm, 213 and 262 nm, and 203 and 257 nm, respectively. Figure 1 presents the
chromatograms of cream spiked with arbutin, niacinamide, and adenosine. The sen-
sitivity of arbutin was higher at 220 nm than at 260 nm and 280 nm. The baseline
drifted as the amount of methanol in the mobile phase increased. In addition, it
was difficult to distinguish the adenosine peak at 280 nm. Typical chromatographic
profiles of blanks and spiked samples are shown in Figure 2. Good separation was

Figure 2. Chromatograms of cosmetics spiked with arbutin, niacinamide and adenosine at a detection
wavelength of 260 nm: (A) cream; (B) lotion; (C) emulsion. Chromatogram: (A-1) cream spiked with
120% of standard; (B-1) lotion spiked with 60% of standard; (C-1); emulsion spiked with 30% of standard.
ARBUTIN, NIACINAMIDE, AND ADENOSINE IN COSMETICS 1655

achieved under the optimized conditions, and no interferences were found at 260 nm.
Thus, 260 nm was selected as the detection wavelength.

Analytical Figures of Merit


The linearity of the method was calculated using standards of arbutin, niacina-
mide, and adenosine. Ten concentrations were measured, and the calibration curves
were constructed by plotting peak area versus concentration. As shown in Table 1,
good correlation coefficients were obtained (r2  0.9999).
The LODs and LOQs were calculated as the lowest concentration required to
generate a response at a signal-to-noise ratio of 3 and a signal-to-noise ratio of 10,
respectively (ICH Steering Committee 1996). The LOQs for arbutin, niacinamide,
and adenosine were 2.48, 0.41, and 0.05 mg=mL at 260 nm, respectively (Table 1).
Thongchai, Liawruangrath, and Liawruangrath (2007) reported that the LOQ of
arbutin in cosmetic products was 0.0101 mg=mL at 220 nm, Huang et al. (2004)
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reported an LOQ for arbutin in cosmetic products of 15.0 mg=mL at 280 nm. In
addition, Desmedt et al. (2013) reported that the LOQs of arbutin and niacinamide
in cosmetics were 0.056 mg=mL and 0.055 mg=mL at 230 nm. The LOQ of adenosine
for the determination of adenosine in royal jelly was 0.048 g=mL by Xue et al. (2009).
As the arbutin, niacinamide, and adenosine concentrations in the samples were at
least 40.0 mg=mL, 40.0 mg=mL, and 0.8 mg=mL, respectively, the LOQs obtained here
were suitable for these determinations.

Method Validation
Creams, lotions, and emulsions containing no functional cosmetic agents were
used as blanks in recovery experiments, as shown in Figure 3. Recovery was exam-
ined by adding a known amount of the arbutin, niacinamide, and adenosine stan-
dards (30%, 60%, and 120% of concentrations) to the cosmetics using the
developed method. Table 2 shows the recoveries of arbutin, niacinamide, and adeno-
sine were 102.1%–107.5%, 101.2%–105.1%, and 98.1%–102.9%, respectively, and
were acceptable according to AOAC guidelines (Associations of Analytical Com-
munities 2013).
The intra-day and inter-day precisions were characterized by analyzing samples
with added arbutin, niacinamide, and adenosine three times during a single day and
by measurements on three successive days, respectively. The intra- and inter-day pre-
cision values of the method are shown in Table 3. The relative standard deviations of
intra- and inter-day analyses varied from 0.15% to 0.82%, indicating that the

Table 1. Linear dynamic range and the limits of detection (LOD) and quantitation (LOQ)

Compound Linear range (mg=mL) Calibration equationa R2 (n ¼ 3) LOD (mg=mL) LOQ (mg=mL)

Arbutin 0.40–48 y ¼ 0.9388x þ 0.1381 0.9999 0.75 2.48


Niacinamide 0.40–48 y ¼ 12.7899x  2.5695 0.9999 0.12 0.41
Adenosine 0.008–0.96 y ¼ 35.4075x þ 0.0044 0.9999 0.01 0.05

a
y: peak area of analyte; x: concentration of analyte (mg=mL).
1656 J. S. JEON ET AL.
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Figure 3. Chromatograms of samples containing (A) arbutin; (B) niacinamide; (C) adenosine; (D) arbutin
and adenosine; (E) niacinamide and adenosine; and (F) arbutin, niacinamide, and adenosine.

Table 2. Recoveries from spiked cosmetics (n ¼ 3)

Arbutin Niacinamide Adenosine

Concentrations, mg=mL Recovery, % RSD, % Recovery, % RSD, % Recovery, % RSD, %

Cream
12 104.8 0.59 102.9 0.04 102.9 0.80
24 104.2 0.30 103.6 0.04 102.1 0.40
48 102.1 0.15 102.6 0.05 99.7 0.41
Lotion
12 107.5 0.58 105.1 0.22 102.9 0.80
24 105.5 0.29 104.3 0.04 102.1 0.40
48 102.1 0.15 102.0 0.23 100.0 0.41
Emulsion
0.24 107.5 0.58 105.1 0.22 102.9 0.80
0.48 104.4 1.19 103.9 0.46 101.2 0.82
0.96 102.3 0.76 101.2 0.54 98.1 0.63

Table 3. Intra-day and inter-day precision

Intra-day variability RSD, % (n ¼ 3) Inter-day variability RSD, % (n ¼ 9)


Validation
Concentration, mg=mL Arbutin Niacinamide Adenosine Arbutin Niacinamide Adenosine

32(0.64) 0.57 0.04 0.80 0.59 0.23 0.81


40(0.80) 0.22 0.29 0.40 0.30 0.51 0.82
48(0.96) 0.15 0.13 0.35 0.40 0.37 0.34


Concentration of adenosine.
ARBUTIN, NIACINAMIDE, AND ADENOSINE IN COSMETICS 1657

Table 4. Chromatographic parameters

Acceptance criteria

Instrument precision, Capacity Resolution Tailing Plate Count


Compound Tr,min RSD, %  1.0% factor  2  2.0 factor  2.0  2,000

Arbutin 4.5 0.58 4.85 – 1.19 4,449


Niacinamide 7.7 0.66 9.07 8.32 1.38 3,741
Adenosine 12.1 0.92 14.66 11.64 1.37 42,640

Table 5. Analysis of cosmetics

Sample Label claim Amount found


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number Formulation Functional agents Type of function (g=100 g) (g=100 g)

1 cream Adenosine Anti-wrinkle 0.04 0.04


2 cream Arbutin Whitening 2.00 2.00
3 cream Arbutin Whitening 2.00 2.00
4 cream Arbutin Whitening 2.00 2.00
5 cream Arbutin Whitening 2.00 2.00
6 cream Arbutin Whitening 2.00 2.00
7 cream Arbutin, adenosine Whitening, 2.00, 0.04 2.50, 0.05
anti-wrinkle
8 cream Arbutin, adenosine Whitening, 2.00, 0.04 2.00, 0.04
anti-wrinkle
9 cream Arbutin, adenosine Whitening, 2.00, 0.04 2.10, 0.04
anti-wrinkle
10 cream Niacinamide, Whitening, 2.00, 0.04 2.00, 0.04
adenosine anti-wrinkle
11 cream Niacinamide Whitening 2.00 2.00
12 cream Niacinamide Whitening 2.00 1.80
13 emulsion Niacinamide Whitening 3.00 2.90
14 emulsion Niacinamide Whitening 2.00 2.00
15 lotion Arbutin Whitening 2.00 2.10
16 lotion Arbutin Whitening 2.00 2.00
17 lotion Arbutin Whitening 2.00 2.00
18 lotion Arbutin Whitening 2.00 2.00
19 lotion Arbutin, adenosine, Whitening, 2.00, 0.04 1.80, 0.05, 0.10
niacinamide anti-wrinkle
20 lotion Arbutin, adenosine Whitening, 2.00, 0.04 2.10, 0.05
anti-wrinkle
21 lotion Niacinamide Whitening 2.00 2.10
22 lotion Niacinamide Whitening 2.00 1.90
23 lotion Niacinamide Whitening 2.00 2.00
24 lotion Niacinamide Whitening 2.00 2.00
25 lotion Niacinamide Whitening 2.00 2.00
26 lotion Niacinamide Whitening 2.00 1.90
27 lotion Niacinamide Whitening 2.00 2.00
28 lotion Niacinamide Whitening 2.00 1.80
29 lotion Niacinamide Whitening 2.00 2.00
30 lotion Niacinamide Whitening 2.00 2.00
1658 J. S. JEON ET AL.

precision was acceptable. As shown in Figure 3, no interfering peaks were found in


the chromatograms. The ability of the method to separate analytes from matrix
components demonstrated the specificity of the method.
A short-term temperature stability experiment was performed because adeno-
sine readily degrades to adenine (Kießling et al. 2004). Xue et al. (2009) reported that
adenosine was stable in 80% ethanol solution for 24 hours. Diluted acids easily
hydrolyze arbutin (Budavar 1989), and Huang et al. (2004) reported that arbutin
in 0.05 M KH2PO4 buffer (pH 2.5) was stable for four days. Niacinamide is chemi-
cally stable and only slightly hydrolyzed in the pH range of 4 to 7 (Bissett et al. 2004;
Ramos-e-Silva et al. 2013). The stability of standards and samples at room
temperature was investigated by repeated HPLC analysis for 24 hours (0, 3, 6, 12,
and 24 h). Adenosine, arbutin, and niacinamide were stable over 24 hours (data
not shown).
The method suitability was investigated by characterization of the performance
using 100% mixed standard solutions. The results are presented in Table 4. RSD
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values for five consecutive injections  1.0%, capacity factor  2, resolution between
two adjacent peaks  2.0, tailing factor  2, and plate count  2,000 were deemed to
be acceptable (US Food and Drug Administration 1994). These results indicate that
the chromatographic system was suitable for this analysis.

Analysis of Cosmetics
The method was applied for the determination of arbutin, niacinamide, and
adenosine in functional cosmetics. Thirty commercially available cosmetic products
were analyzed: one antiwrinkle cream, eight whitening creams, three whitening and
antiwrinkle creams, two whitening emulsions, fourteen whitening lotions, and two
whitening and antiwrinkle lotions. The concentrations of the functional agents are
given in Table 5. Example chromatograms are shown in Figure 3. One whitening
and antiwrinkle lotion contained niacinamide as a functional ingredient as shown
in Figure 3(F). The established method was suitable for creams, emulsions, and
lotions. The results demonstrated that the method was simple and reliable for quality
control of functional cosmetics.

CONCLUSIONS
A method was developed and validated for the determination of arbutin, nia-
cinamide, and adenosine in functional cosmetic products by HPLC. The analytes
were extracted using methanol and deionized water. The results show the suitability
of the method for cosmetics.

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ARBUTIN, NIACINAMIDE, AND ADENOSINE IN COSMETICS 1659

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