• Food Science and Biotechnology
• /
• v.17 no.3
• /
• pp.464-469
• /
• 2008

In human beings, it is known that there is a correlation between the occurrence of acne and the ability to suppress sebum. Sebosuppression may be related to the inhibition of sebocyte proliferation, differentiation, and lipogenesis in sebaceous glands. To investigate the skin sebosuppressive activity of green tea extract, the in vivo effects of its flavonoid compounds on the androgen-dependent stimulation of pigmented macules in hamsters and performed in vitro experiments with human primary sebocytes were examined. Our results imply a dual activity of skin sebosuppression by green tea flavonoids; some catechins including epigallocatechin-3-gallate (EGCG) and gallocatechin-3-gallate (GCG) may reduce the differentiation of sebocytes by inhibiting PPAR-${\gamma}1$ mRNA expression, whereas some flavonol glycosides including kaempferol may inhibit lipogenesis in sebaceous glands by decreasing levels of the mature form of sterol-sensitive response elements binding protein-1c (SREBP-1c). Therefore, green tea is a potentially effective material for use in the development of health foods or cosmetics for skin sebosuppression.