In an attempt to find natural sources of antioxidants and whitening agents, comparisons of the antioxidative and tyrosinase inhibitory activities of various ethanol extracts of Cuscutae Semen, Rubi Fructus and Paeoniae Radix were carried out. Comparison of the three ethanol extracts revealed that, Paeoniae Radix had the highest electron-donating ability(79.3%),; however, Rubi Fructus had the highest SOD-like ability(31.1%). The xanthine oxidase experiment exhibited a hindrance effect of 74.3% in Cuscutae Semen, 80.4% in Rubi Fructus and 60.8% in Paeoniae Radix. A tyrosinase inhibitory activity assay was conducted to evaluate the whitening effects of the extracts, The tyrosinase inhibitory activity was 20.1% in the Cuscutae Semen, 54.2% in the Rubi Fructus, 56.3% in the Paeoniae Radix. Based on these results, we suggest that the ethanol extracts of Cuscutae Semen, Rubi Fructus and Paeoniae Radix can be used as food and cosmetic ingredients.