Anti-tyrosinase Activities of Curcumin-Chitosan Gold
Nanoparticles Synthesized from Beetle (Oryctes rhinoceros)

A breakthrough in cosmeceuticals by utilizing insects as major ingredients in cosmetic products is
gaining popularity. Therefore, the interest in rare sources of ingredients, for instance, from the Oryctes
rhinoceros beetle, can bring huge benefit in turning pest to wealth. In this study, curcumin was chosen
as the active ingredient loaded into chitosan-gold nanoparticles (CCG-NPs). However, curcumin is
unstable, has poor absorption, a high rate of metabolism and high sensitivity to light. These are all
factors that contribute to the lower bioavailability of any substance to reach the target cells. Therefore,
chitosan extracted from O. rhinoceros acts as a drug carrier and incorported in gold nanoparticles are
used to overcome these problems. The CCG-NPs were successfully synthesized at 70 ºC for 60 min
under optimal conditions of reactant ratio of 2:0.5 (0.5 mM HAuCl4:0.1% curcumin). The tyrosinase
enzyme inhibition of CCG-NPs from O. rhinoceros was 66.385 ± 3.0%. Thus showing a good inhibition
trait for the anti-tyrosinase assay as it is almost double the tyrosinase inhibition percentage when
being compared to CCG-NPs from the commercial chitosan. Therefore, CCG-NPs from O. rhinoceros
has a high potential in cosmeceutical applications as whitening agent.