here, we investigated the anti-oxidant and anti-aging effects of essential oils (eos) from the leaves of alpinia zerumbet (tairin and shima) in vitro and anti-melanogenic effects in b16f10 melanoma cells. the anti-oxidant activities were performed with 2,2-diphenyl-1-picrylhydrazyl (dpph); 2,2'-azino-bis(3-ethylbenzothiazoline-6-sulfonic acid) diammonium salt (abts); nitric oxide; singlet oxygen; hydroxyl radical scavenging; and xanthine oxidase. the inhibitory activities against collagenase, elastase, hyaluronidase, and tyrosinase were employed for anti-aging. the anti-melanogenic was assessed in b16f10 melanoma cells by melanin synthesis and intracellular tyrosinase inhibitory activity. the volatile chemical composition of the essential oil was analyzed with gas chromatography-mass spectrometry (gc/ms). the eo was a complex mixture mainly consisting of monoterpenes and sesquiterpenes. the results revealed that tairin and shima eos showed strong anti-oxidant activities against dpph and nitric oxide, hydroxyl radical scavenging activity, and xanthine oxidase inhibition. compared to shima eo; tairin eo exhibited strong anti-aging activity by inhibiting collagenase, tyrosinase, hyaluronidase, and elastase (ic50 = 11 +/- 0.1; 25 +/- 1.2; 83 +/- 1.6; and 213 +/- 2 g/ml, respectively). both eos inhibited intracellular tyrosinase activity; thus, reducing melanin synthesis. these results suggest that tairin eo has better anti-oxidant/anti-aging activity than shima eo, but both are equally anti-melanogenic.