• The Korean Journal of Physiology and Pharmacology
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• v.19 no.1
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• pp.29-34
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• 2015

Fucoidan, a fucose-rich sulfated polysaccharide derived from brown seaweed in the class Phaeophyceae, has been widely studied for its possible health benefits. However, the potential of fucoidan as a possible treatment for hyperpigmentation is not fully understood. This study investigated the effects of fucoidan on melanogenesis and related signaling pathways using Mel-Ab cells. Fucoidan significantly decreased melanin content. While fucoidan treatment decreased tyrosinase activity, it did not do so directly. Western blot analysis indicated that fucoidan downregulated microphthalmia-associated transcription factor and reduced tyrosinase protein expression. Further investigation showed that fucoidan activated the extracellular signal-regulated kinase (ERK) pathway, suggesting a possible mechanism for the inhibition of melanin synthesis. Treatment with PD98059, a specific ERK inhibitor, resulted in the recovery of melanin production. Taken together, these findings suggest that fucoidan inhibits melanogenesis via ERK phosphorylation.

• Korean Journal of Acupuncture
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• v.37 no.1
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• pp.24-30
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• 2020

Objectives : The purpose of this study was to investigate melanogenesis inhibition of ethanol extract of Polyporus (EP) by using B16F10 melanoma cells. Methods : We measured antioxidant effect of EP by using 1,1-Diphenyl-1-picrylhydrazyl (DPPH) assay and we confirmed melanin contents and tyrosinase activity of EP in cells. Additionally, the expression of tyrosinase-related protein-1 (TRP-1) and TRP-2 was observed by Western blot. Results : EP showed significantly high radical scavenging activity and inhibition of melanogenesis in dose-dependent manner by decreasing cellular tyrosinase activity and melanin content with or without α-melanin stimulating hormone. TRP-1 and TRP-2 expressions were also suppressed by EP in B16F10 cells. Conclusions : These results suggest that EP inhibits the melanogenesis and it could be a new organic ingredient for hyper-pigmentation.

• KSBB Journal
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• v.25 no.5
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• pp.478-482
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• 2010

Inhibitory melanogenesis by Bambusae caulis in Teaniam (Phyllostaachys nigra var. henonis Stapf) was studied. Tyrosinase inhibition activities were evaluated with six different extracts. Among them the extract with methanol showed the highest tyrosinase activity inhibition. MTT assay with B16 melanoma showed that the extract was not toxic up to the concentration of 50 ppm. The melanogenesis was clearly inhibited by the extract when it was examined by the melanin content assay in the cell. When the extract was dosed as 10 ppm, the melanogenesis was reduced to 68% in culture medium and 74% in the cell. By the proteome analysis with 2-D electrophoresis, 171 protein spots were found in the control gel and 282 spots were detected in the sample gel. Among 120 spot proteins matched, 12 spots were identified as proteins involved in the melanogenesis mechanism.

• Microbiology and Biotechnology Letters
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• v.49 no.1
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• pp.24-31
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• 2021

This study aimed to investigate the melanogenesis inhibitory activity of epicatechin-3-O-gallate (ECG) isolated from Polygonum amphibium L. ECG was isolated from the ethanol extract of P. amphibium L, and its chemical structure was determined using spectroscopic methods such as LC-ESI-MS, 1D-NMR, and UV spectroscopy. ECG inhibited the melanogenesis of B16F10 cells in a dose-dependent manner. Particularly, it decreased the melanin content by 27.4% at 200 µM concentration, compared with the control, in B16F10 cells, without causing cytotoxicity. It is noteworthy that the expression of three key proteins, including tyrosinase, tyrosinase-related protein-1 (TRP-1), TRP-2, and microphthalmia-associated transcription factor (MITF), involved in melanogenesis, is significantly inhibited by ECG. The ECG isolated in this study caused the inhibition of body pigmentation and tyrosinase activity in vivo in the zebrafish model. These results suggest that the ECG isolated from P. amphibium L. is an effective anti-melanogenesis agent.

• The Korean Journal of Physiology and Pharmacology
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• v.26 no.2
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• pp.113-123
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• 2022

Diarylpropionitrile (DPN), a selective agonist for estrogen receptor β (ERβ), has been reported to regulate various hormonal responses through activation of ERβ in tissues including the mammary gland and brain. However, the effect of DPN on melanogenesis independent of ERβ has not been studied. The aim of this study is to examine the possibility of anti-melanogenic effect of DPN and its underlying mechanism. Melanin contents and cellular tyrosinase activity assay indicated that DPN inhibited melanin biosynthesis in alpha-melanocyte stimulating hormone-stimulated B16F10 melanoma cell line. However, DPN had no direct influence on in vitro tyrosinase catalytic activity. On the other hand, 17β-estradiol had no effect on inhibition of melanogenesis, suggesting that the DPN-mediated suppression of melanin production was not related with estrogen signaling pathway. Immunoblotting analysis showed that DPN down-regulated the expression of microphthalmia-associated transcription factor (MITF), a central transcription factor of melanogenesis and its down-stream genes including tyrosinase, tyrosinase-related protein (TRP)-1, and TRP-2. Also, DPN attenuated the phosphorylation of protein kinase A (PKA) and cAMP-response element-binding protein (CREB). Additionally, DPN suppressed the melanin synthesis in UVB-irradiated HaCaT conditioned media culture system suggesting that DPN has potential as an anti-melanogenic activity in physiological conditions. Collectively, our data show that DPN inhibits melanogenesis via downregulation of PKA/CREB/MITF signaling pathway.

• Journal of Mushroom
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• v.19 no.3
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• pp.150-159
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• 2021

Anti-melanogenesis and skin anti-wrinkle effects of methanol (ME) and hot water (HE) extracts from the fruiting bodies of Ganoderma applanatum were investigated in this study. The total phenolic contents of the ME and HE of the mushroom were 11.68 and 3.15 ㎍ GAEs/mg, respectively, whereas the total flavonoid contents of the ME and HE were 21.82 and 2.69 ㎍ QEs/mg, respectively. The survival rate of B16-F10 murine melanoma cells treated with 750 ㎍ ME and HE were 83.46% and 85.54%, respectively, thereby suggesting that mushroom extracts were slightly cytotoxic at the tested concentration. The in vitro tyrosinase inhibition by ME (83.15%) and HE (83.44%) was significantly lower than that of kojic acid (99.61%), the positive control, at 2.0 mg/mL. Although the inhibition of cellular melanin synthesis in B16-F10 melanoma cells by 2.0 mg/mL of ME (50.24%) and HE (51.24%) was lower than that of arbutin (64.84%), the inhibition by both ME and HE was higher than 50%. Collagenase inhibition by HE was comparable to 2.0 mg/mL epigallocatechin (EGCG), the positive control; however, elastase inhibition by ME and HE was lower than that of EGCG at the concentration tested. The results showed that the fruiting bodies of G. applanatum had good anti-tyrosinase, good anti-collagenase, and moderate anti-elastase activities, which might be useful for developing novel skin-whitening and anti-wrinkle agents.

• ALGAE
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• v.34 no.2
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• pp.177-185
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• 2019

Ecklonia cava is popular in Korea as a marine functional materials. E. cava is generally collected and used on the coast of Jeju Island. However, the continuous use of collected natural E. cava may be limited because difficult to secure throughout the year and may be exposed to environmental pollution. Jeju magma seawater (MSW) was known to be significant advantages such as safety, cleanness, stability, and functional improvement. Attempts have been reported on application of MSW to the culturing of macro- and microalgae and showed improved results. Thus, the objective of the present study was to explore the anti-melanogenesis activity of brown seaweed E. cava (E. cava cultured with MSW [MSWE]) extract cultured in tanks with MSW of Jeju Island to evaluate the possibility of cosmeceutical industrial application. MSWE extract showed the higher polyphenolic and dieckol contents than natural E. cava (NE) extract. Anti-melanogenesis activity of MSWE extract and NE extract are tested and compared using tyrosinase and dihydroxyphenylalanine (DOPA) oxidation inhibition assay. MSWE extracts evidenced more effective tyrosinase and DOPA oxidation inhibition activity than that of the NE extracts and the commercial whitening agent, arbutin. MSWE extracts also markedly inhibited melanin synthesis and decreased the expression of melanogenesis-related protein in ${\alpha}$-melanocyte stimulating hormone-stimulated B16F10 melanoma cells without cytotoxicity. These results suggest that MSW cultivation process would be more effective in releasing bioactive compounds with whitening effect from seaweed such as E. cava at an industrial scale.

• Proceedings of the Plant Resources Society of Korea Conference
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• 2022.09a
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• pp.110-110
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• 2022

Scrophularia koraiensis Nakai (S. koraiensis) has used its roots as traditional herbal medicine. Some research is reported to be effective in allergic inflammation and osteoporosis. In a present study, we conducted to investigate the bioactivity of the ethanol extract of S. koraiensis (ESK) on the inhibition of melanogenesis and the apoptosis of melanocytes. We analyzed Harpagoside of ESK by using LCMS and HPLC-PDA and investigated the regulation of ESK on reactive oxygen species. Also, the expressions of melanin synthesis-related factors and apoptosis-related factors were confirmed. As a result, the quantification results of quercetin and rutin in ESK were 77.2 and 7.4 mg/g. IC₅₀ on DPPH and ABTS radical scavenging activity is 33.1 and 9.5 ug/mL. ESK attenuated not only the expression of tyrosinase, TYRP-1, TYRP-2, and MITF in melanogenesis. It is thought that ESK may be effective in the inhibition of melanogenesis through MAPK cell signaling pathway in melanocytes. These study results suggest that ESK has the ability to inhibit melanin production and induce apoptosis.

• Journal of the Society of Cosmetic Scientists of Korea
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• v.22 no.2
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• pp.70-75
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• 1996

DMHF (2.5-dimethyl-4-hydroxy-3[2H]-furanone), an antioxidative compound from the reaction of L-cysteine/D-glucose scavenged efficiently 1,1-diphenyl-2-picryl hydrazyl free radicals. It exhibited an inhibitory effect on the autoxidation of linolenic acid, and the protective effect against UV cytotoxicity in cultured human fibroblast. In addition, DMHF appeared to prevent the cellular melanogenesis in the cultured murine melanoma cells more effectively than kojic acid, a well known inhibitor of melanogenesis, while the former was not so effective as the latter for the inhibition of the tyrosinase. Considering that cellular melanogenesis is a metabolic process triggered by oxidative stress, it ovas tentatively deduced that the antioxidative property of DMHF might afford the effect against cellular pigmentation by alleviating the causative stress. In toxicological tests such as irritation and sensitization, this compound turned out to be safe. The results of this study suggest that DMHF may be a novel inhibitor of melanogenesis, and that night be useful for application in cosmetics.

• Journal of the Society of Cosmetic Scientists of Korea
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• v.41 no.3
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• pp.263-268
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• 2015

The purpose of this study was to investigate anti-melanogenesis effects of mulberry seed extracts (MSE). MSE inhibited melanogenesis in melan-a cells at $10{\mu}g/mL$ without cytotoxicity. Also, MSE decreased tyrosinase, tyrosinase-related protein-1 (TRP-1) protein expression in the melan-a cells. To identify the signaling pathway of MSE, the ability of MSE to influence extracellular signal-regulated protein kinase (ERK) activation was investigated. MSE induced ERK protein expression in a dose-dependent manner. In addition, MSE presented inhibition of the body pigmentation in vivo zebrafish model. These results suggest that MSE may be an effective anti-melanogenesis agent regulating the expression of ERK protein and melanogenic enzymes.