Thai Traditional Medicine believes that human body is composed of four elements. It also mentions that skin problems related to each element can be alleviated by using suitable plants. This study aimed to determine the bioactivities related to skin effects of Aloe vera, Cucumis sativus, Alpinia galanga and Phyllanthus emblica. The plants were extracted with 50% ethanol prior to bioactivity evaluation. The highest anti-oxidant activity (IC50, 14.01 µg/ml) was found for P. emblica. Tyrosinase inhibition was found with P. emblica (41.92% inhibition) and A. vera (26.67% inhibition) at 500 µg/ml concentrations. The cells treated with 500 µg/ml A. vera and 15.62 µg/ml P. emblica had after 48 h increased collagen type-1 production by around 14 and 4 -fold from those of untreated cells. Anti-glycation was found with P. emblica. P. emblica, A. galanga and C. sativus at 62.5 µg/ml exhibited anti-inflammatory activity. This information supports evidence based use of these plants as food and cosmetic ingredients.
