Can baobab oil help to reduce pigmentation spots?

Baobab oil: a skin-lightening agent?

The baobab is an iconic African tree that produces an oil renowned for its skin-nourishing properties. It is also sometimes cited for its potential to brighten the complexion. Myth or reality? Read on to find out.

Published on January 9, 2024, updated on January 28, 2026, by Marie, Scientific Editor — 6 min of reading

Does baobab oil exhibit skin-brightening properties?

Baobab vegetable oil is a natural ingredient that has been used for its cosmetic and medicinal properties for centuries. It appears on the INCI list of various skin and hair care products under the name Adansonia Digitata Seed Oil and has numerous benefits: moisturizing, nourishing, antioxidant, anti-inflammatory… It is also attributed to the baobab oil also a skin-brightening action on the skin. Several studies have investigated this potential capacity ofAdansonia Digitata. Among these, two main studies can be cited.

A closer look at the study by LTEIF & al. (2016).

A first study focused on the anti-tyrosinase activity of various plant extracts derived from species cultivated in Senegal, including Adansonia digitata. The objective was to evaluate, in vitro, the ability of these extracts to inhibit fungal tyrosinase, a model commonly used to screen compounds that could interfere with melanogenesis. The authors tested fifteen extracts obtained from different plant parts (pericarp or pulp and seeds for the baobab), using several extraction solvents (methanol and 2-propanol) to compare their effectiveness. This highlights the role of plant secondary metabolites, such as flavonoids and tannins, which are known to interact with tyrosinase.

The results show that 5% baobab extracts display tyrosinase-inhibitory activity, with varying degrees of efficacy depending on both the plant part used and the extraction solvent.

Plant part extracted	Solvent used	Tyrosinase inhibition (%)
Exocarp	2-propanol	77%
Exocarp	Ethanol	88.5%
Pulp and seeds	2-propanol	91.2%
Pulp and seeds	Ethanol	74.2%

Anti-tyrosinase activity of baobab extracts expressed as percent inhibition.

Source: LTEIF R. & al. Phytochemicals screening and anti-tyrosinase activity of Senegalese herbal extracts. International Journal of Innovative Research in Science, Engineering and Technology (2016).

The authors emphasize that the choice of solvent strongly affects the nature and quantity of extracted bioactive compounds, and thus the extent of the observed enzymatic inhibition. These data confirm that baobab contains compounds capable of interacting with tyrosinase at a biochemical level. However, this study remains limited to an enzyme model in vitro. It therefore suggests a theoretical skin-lightening effect of baobab oil, but does not provide conclusive proof.

A closer look at the study by LTEIF & al. (2019).

Another study investigated the depigmenting potential of several extracts and vegetable oils, including baobab seed oil, in search of plant-based alternatives to depigmenting agents classical. The authors used a reconstructed pigmented human skin model, which reproduces the interactions between keratinocytes and melanocytes. This model allows evaluation not only of tyrosinase inhibition, the key enzyme in melanogenesis, but also the overall effect on melanin production. The results show that baobab seed oil (8 µL) applied for six days leads to a reduction in melanin production of about 20.6%, a value comparable to that obtained with 1 g/L of kojic acid (24.58%), used here as a reference.

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20.6%

reduction in melanin production after six days of using 8 µL of baobab oil.

24.58%

reduction in melanin production after 6 days of treatment with 1 g/L kojic acid.

The authors attribute this effect to the richness of the baobab oil in unsaturated fatty acids, notably oleic acid and linoleic acid.

These lipids are indeed described as capable of interfering with melanogenesis through various mechanisms, inhibiting tyrosinase activity and disrupting melanosome transfer to keratinocytes. However, it should be emphasized that these results were obtained in vitro, on a reconstructed skin model. Thus, while this study suggests a mechanistic skin-lightening potential of baobab oil, it does not allow a firm conclusion about a lightening effect when the oil is applied to the skin.

These studies suggest that certain baobab-derived extracts and oils have a potential inhibitory effect on melanogenesis in vitro, notably via an interaction with tyrosinase, but these findings remain experimental and do not yet allow for concluding a lightening effect upon cosmetic application.