Cosmetological potential of the essential oil from the aerial parts of Rubus sanctus Schreb.: Enzymatic inhibition, antibacterial properties, and chemical composition

Recently, skin care products and cosmetic preparations with herbal ingredients have attracted considerable interest from the public. Therefore, the cosmetic industry is investigating natural products like essential oils and extracts. This study aimed to determine the anti-aging effects of the essential oil obtained from the aerial parts of Rubus sanctus Schreb. (RsEO), as well as to reveal its chemical composition and investigate its antibacterial activity. The chemical composition of RsEO was determined by using GC-MS. The anti-aging activity of RsEO was evaluated by in vitro studies of anti-collagenase, anti-elastase, anti-tyrosinase, and anti-hyaluronidase activities. The antibacterial potential of RsEO was investigated by the agar-well diffusion method against Pseudomonas aeruginosa, Staphylococcus aureus, Enterococcus faecalis, and Escherichia coli. RsEO showed significant inhibition against collagenase, elastase, hyaluronidase, and tyrosinase with IC50 values of 80.46, 77.85, 72.71, and 82.71 μg/mL, respectively, and when compared with the positive controls epigallocatechin gallate (IC50: 38.91 μg/mL for collagenase, IC50: 38.91 μg/mL for elastase), tannic acid (IC50: 26.95 μg/mL for hyaluronidase), and kojic acid (IC50: 28.74 μg/mL for tyrosinase), the activities were found to be close. It was determined that the major components of RsEO were pentadecanal (8.88%), dodecanoic acid (7.86%), nonanal (4.32%), and octadecanal (4.08%). RsEO showed moderate antibacterial activity (inhibition zones between 10 and 15 mm) against the tested bacteria compared to ampicillin. This study demonstrated that RsEO is a natural product that has the potential to serve as a promising anti-aging and antibacterial therapeutic agent due to the synergistic effect of its constituent components.