• Journal of Physiology & Pathology in Korean Medicine
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• v.19 no.3
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• pp.662-670
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• 2005

Recently many efforts were focused to understand the mechanical insights of melanogenesis to develop the agents for hyper-pigmentation and hypo-pigmentation. In the melanin bio-synthetic pathway, tyrosinase is the rate limiting enzyme, and ${\alpha}$-melanocyte stimulating hormone(MSH) stimulates melanogenesis and enhances the melanin synthesis and the tyrosinase activity. The author has analyzed the effects of Biota Orientalis Folium on the basal melanogenic activities of B16 mouse melanoma cells, and on the ${\alpha}$-MSH or tyrosinase-induced melanogenesis. Biota Orientalis Folium alone markedly suppressed melanin content and tyrosinase activity in a dose-dependent manner. The decrease of cell propagation was observed in B16 cells treated with 200${\mu}$g/ml dose of Biota Orientalis Folium, indicating that Biota Orientalis Folium-induced depigmenting effect was caused by inhibition of melanin synthesis, not due to destruction of B16 cells. Pretreatment of the cells with Biota Orientalis Folium also suppressed the increase of ${\alpha}$-MSH (10 nM) induced melanin content and tyrosinase activity. Biota Orientalis Folium inhibited the revelation of ${\alpha}$-MSH induced tyrosinase protein and tyrosinase related protein and mRNA of tyrosinase in B16 melanoma cell. These results suggest that Biota Orientalis Folium inhibits melanogenesis and abrogates ${\alpha}$-MSH and tyrosinase-induced melanogenesis in B16 melanoma cells.

• The Journal of Korean Medicine Ophthalmology and Otolaryngology and Dermatology
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• v.16 no.3
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• pp.129-144
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• 2003

Recently many efforts were focused to understand the mechanical insights of melanogenesis to develop the agents for hyper-pigmentation and hypo-pigmentation. In the melanin biosynthetic pathway, tyrosinase is the rate limiting enzyme, and ${\alpha}$-melanocyte stimulating hormone(MSH) or cAMP-elevating agents stimulate melanogenesis and enhance the melanin synthesis and the tyrosinase activity. The author has analyzed the effects of Rhizoma Bletillae on the basal melanogenic activities of B16／F10 mouse melanoma cells, and on the ${\alpha}$-MSH or forskolin-induced melanogenesis. Rhizoma Bletillae alone markedly suppressed melanin content and tyrosinase activity in a dose-dependent manner. Pretreatment of the cells with Rhizoma Bletillae also suppressed the increase of ${\alpha}$-MSH (100 nM) or forskolin (20 ${\mu}M$)-induced melanin content and tyrosinase activity. The decrease in the tyrosinase activity was paralled by a decrease in the abundance of tyrosinase protein and tyrosinase promoter activity. Pretreatment of the cells with Rhizoma Bletillae also inhibited the increase of forskolin(20${\mu}M$) induced the amount of tyrosinase protein and tyrosinase promoter activity. The results of DOPA staining revealed that pretreatment of the cells with Rhizoma Bletillae showed less intensity than B16 melanoma cells stimulated with ${\alpha}$-MSH or forskolin. These results suggest that Rhizoma Bletillae inhibits melanogenesis and abrogates ${\alpha}$-MSH and cAMP-induced melanogenesis in B16 melanoma cells.

• Nutrition Research and Practice
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• v.11 no.3
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• pp.173-179
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• 2017

BACKGROUND/OBJECTIVES: Gastrodia elata Blume (GEB), a traditional herbal medicine, has been used to treat a wide range of neurological disorders (e.g., paralysis and stroke) and skin problems (e.g., atopic dermatitis and eczema) in oriental medicine. This study was designed to investigate whether GEB extract inhibits melanogenesis activity in murine B16F10 melanoma. MATERIALS/METHOD: Murine B16F10 cells were treated with 0-5 mg/mL of GEB extract or $400{\mu}g/mL$ arbutin (a positive control) for 72 h after treatment with/without 200 nM alpha-melanocyte stimulating hormone (${\alpha}$-MSH) for 24 h. Melanin concentration, tyrosinase activity, mRNA levels, and protein expression of microphthalmia-associated transcription factor (MITF), tyrosinase, tyrosinase-related protein (Trp)1, and Trp2 were analyzed in ${\alpha}$-MSH-untreated and ${\alpha}$-MSH-treated B16F10 cells. RESULTS: Treatment with 200 nM ${\alpha}$-MSH induced almost 2-fold melanin synthesis and tyrosinase activity along with increased mRNA levels and protein expression of MITF, tyrosinase, Trp1 and Trp2. Irrespective of ${\alpha}$-MSH stimulation, GEB extract at doses of 0.5-5 mg/mL inhibited all these markers for skin whitening in a dose-dependent manner. While lower doses (0.5-1 mg/mL) of GEB extract generally had a tendency to decrease melanogenesis, tyrosinase activity, and mRNA levels and protein expression of MITF, tyrosinase, Trp1, and Trp2, higher doses (2-5 mg/mL) significantly inhibited all these markers in ${\alpha}$-MSH-treated B16F10 cells in a dose-dependent manner. These inhibitory effects of the GEB extract at higher concentrations were similar to those of $400{\mu}g/mL$ arbutin, a well-known depigmenting agent. CONCLUSIONS: These results suggest that GEB displays dose-dependent inhibition of melanin synthesis through the suppression of tyrosinase activity as well as molecular levels of MITF, tyrosinase, Trp1, and Trp2 in murine B16F10 melanoma. Therefore, GEB may be an effective and natural skin-whitening agent for application in the cosmetic industry.

• YAKHAK HOEJI
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• v.56 no.6
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• pp.395-400
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• 2012

To investigate the possibility of development as a whitening agent using arctigenin, we measured DPPH assay, NBT/XO assay, intracellular ROS scavenging assay, tyrosinase assay and MSH-induced melanin production in B16 melanoma cells. Arctigenin dose-dependently had anti-oxidant activity in DPPH, NBT/XO and intracellular ROS assay. Although arctigenin did not inhibit purified tyrosinase activity, it dose-dependently inhibited tyrosinase activity and melanin production in B16 melanoma cells stimulated by $1{\mu}M$ ${\alpha}$-MSH. In particular, arctigenin at a concentration $100{\mu}M$ inhibited ${\alpha}$-MSH-stimulated tyrosinase activity and melanin production by $50.9{\pm}2.9%$ and $69.0{\pm}6.5%$ respectively. And typical tyrosinase inhibitor, arbutin, inhibited $57.7{\pm}2.9%$ and $65.1{\pm}5.0%$ respectively. Such an similar inhibitory effect of arctigenin and arbutin in B16 melanoma cells may be due to the inhibition of MSH signal pathway rather than the direct inhibition of tyrosinase. Therefore, these results suggest that arctigenin may be useful for the development as whitening agents.

• Journal of Life Science
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• v.29 no.11
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• pp.1200-1207
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• 2019

Ultraviolet radiation exposure is a major cause of extrinsic skin aging, which leads to skin hyperpigmentation. Loganin, a major iridoid glycoside obtained from Corni fructus, has anti-inflammatory, anti-diabetic, and neuroprotective effects. In this study, we investigated the mechanisms underlying the anti-melanogenic effects of loganin in B16F10 melanocytes treated with ${\alpha}$-melanocyte stimulating hormone (${\alpha}-MSH$) and 3-isobutyl-1-methylxanthine (IBMX). Anti-melanogenic activity was measured by treating cells with loganin at concentrations between 1 and $20{\mu}m$. Cell viability assays confirmed that doses of loganin up to $20{\mu}m$ were not cytotoxic. Loganin significantly and dose-dependently decreased intracellular melanin production. We also investigated potential molecular signaling pathways for the anti-melanogenesis effects of loganin. Western blotting showed that treatment with ${\alpha}-MSH$ and IBMX increased the phosphorylation of cAMP response element-binding protein (CREB) and the gene expressions of microphthalmia-associated transcription factor (MITF) and tyrosinase. Addition of loganin suppressed these increases, while promoting the phosphorylation of extracellular signal regulated kinase (ERK) and the anti-melanogenesis response. Our data therefore indicated that loganin could attenuate the increased melanin synthesis induced by ${\alpha}-MSH$ and IBMX treatment of B16F10 melanocytes. This attenuation appears to occur by downregulation of CREB phosphorylation and MITF and tyrosinase gene expression and upregulation of ERK phosphorylation. These finding suggests that loganin could be a valuable candidate for treatment of skin diseases related to hyperpigmentation.

• Journal of Physiology & Pathology in Korean Medicine
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• v.22 no.6
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• pp.1444-1448
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• 2008

Down-regulation of melanin synthesis is required for recovery of pigmentary disorders and it is well known that ${\alpha}$-MSH induced melanin synthesis and dendrite outgrowth on melanocytes. This study was conducted to evaluate the depigmenting properties of ethanol extract from a Lavandula vera. The ethanol extract from Lavandula vera inhibited melanin contents and tyrosinase activity in a dose-dependent manner, compared with untreated group. Treatment of the ethanol extract of Lavandula vera effectively suppressed the ${\alpha}$-MSH-stimulated melanin formation, tyrosinase activity and dendrite outgrowth. Moreover, the ${\alpha}$-MSH-induced mRNA expression of tyrosinase was significantly attenuated by Lavandula vera treatment. These results suggest that Lavandula vera exerts its depigmenting effects through the suppression of tyrosinase and cytoplasmic dendricity. And it may be a potent depigmetation agent in hyperpigmentation condition.

• Journal of Life Science
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• v.29 no.9
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• pp.972-976
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• 2019

Polyopes affinis is a kind of red algae found in the South coast and near Jeju Island of Korea. The purpose of this study was to investigate the effects of Polyopes affinis ethanol extract (PAEE) on melanogenesis in ${\alpha}-MSH$ stimulated B16F10 melanoma cells. Melanoma cells were cultured for 72 hr treated with PAEE. Total melanin content and the activity of tyrosinase, a key enzyme in melanogenesis, were measured. When the melanin content in B16F10 melanoma cells was tested, PAEE was decreased in a dose-dependent manner: treatment with 100, 300, and $500{\mu}g/ml$ caused 25%, 30%, and 35% reduction, respectively. Treatment of 100, 300, and $500{\mu}g/ml$ of PAEE caused 6%, 12%, and 21% reduction of tyrosinase activities in B16F10 melanoma cells. Also, PAEE suppressed the expression of tyrosinase, tyrosinase-related protein-1, tyrosinase-related protein-2, and melanocyte-inducing transcription factor in B16F10 melanoma cells. A concentration of $500{\mu}g/ml$ of PAEE showed a greater decrease in tyrosinase activity, melanin content, and melanogenic enzyme protein expression. These results indicate that PAEE inhibits melanin synthesis and tyrosinase activity, and Polyopes affinis ethanol extract could be used as a functional whitening agent.

• Journal of Physiology & Pathology in Korean Medicine
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• v.21 no.5
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• pp.1243-1249
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• 2007

The aim of this study was to investigate the effect of ethanol extract of Fagopyrum esculentum on the melanogenesis. To determine whether ethanol extract of Fagopyrum esculentum suppress melanin synthesis in cellular level, B16F10 melanoma cells were cultured in the presence of different concentrations of Fagopyrum esculentum ethanol extract. In the present study, we examined the effects of Fagopyrum esculentum ethanol extract on cell proliferation, melanin contents, tyrosinase activity, expression of melanogenic enzyme proteins including tyrosinase, tyrosinase-related protein 1 (TRP-1) and tyrosinase-related protein 2 (TRP-2). Cell proliferation was slightly increased by treatment with ethanol extract of Fagopyrum esculentum $(25-200 {\mu}g/m{\ell}).$ The ethanol extract of Fagopyrum esculentum effectively suppressed melanin contents at a dose of $100 {\mu}g/m{\ell}).$ It was observed that the color of cell pellets was totally whitened compared with the control. The ethanol extract of Fagopyrum esculentum inhibited tyrosinase activity, regulate melanin biosynthesis as the key enzyme in melanogenesis. Using western blot analysis, the ethanol extract of Fagopyrum esculentum dose-dependently decreased tyrosinase and TRP-1 protein levels, and tyrosinase and TRP-1 were detected in similar manner. ${\alpha}-MSH$ leads to a stimulation of melanin synthesis through increase of tyrosinase activity, melanin contents and cytoplasmic dendricity. In this study, ethanol extract of Fagopyrum esculentum down-regulated the ${\alpha}-MSH$-induced tyrosinase activity, melanin contents and cytoplasmic dendricity. Regarding protein levels of the melanogenic enzymes, the amounts of tyrosinase and TRP-1 was increased after incubation with a-MSH. The treatment of ethanol extract of Fagopyrum esculentum decreased the ${\alpha}-MSH$-induced expression levels of tyrosinase and TRP-1. These results suggest that the ethanol extract of Fagopyrum esculentum exerts its depigmenting effects through the suppression of tyrosinase, TRP-1 and cytoplasmic dendricity. And it may be a potent depigmetation agent in hyperpigmentation condition.

• Journal of the Korean Society of Food Science and Nutrition
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• v.43 no.5
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• pp.705-711
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• 2014

In order to develop a skin-whitening agent, melanin contents and intracellular tyrosinase activity were determined by western blotting. Ethyl acetate fractions of 80% ethanol extracts from lily (Lilium Oriental Hybrid 'Siberia') bulbs (R-EA) inhibited melanin synthesis in a dose-dependent manner in ${\alpha}$-melanocyte stimulating hormone (${\alpha}$-MSH)-treated B16/F10 murine melanoma cells. Intracellular tyrosinase activity and melanin contents were suppressed by 45% and 74%, respectively, in response to treatment with $100{\mu}g/mL$ of R-EA. Examination of protein expression associated with ${\alpha}$-MSH-induced melanogenesis showed that tyrosinase related protein (TRP)-1 was inhibited more strongly than tyrosinase, and these results were correlated with stronger inhibition of melanin synthesis than intracellular tyrosinase activity. Taken together, R-EA containing p-coumaric acid and resveratrol could be used as a hypopigmentation agent through suppression of sustained extracellular signal-regulated kinase (ERK) activation via melanogenic induction.

• Preventive Nutrition and Food Science
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• v.21 no.2
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• pp.155-159
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• 2016

Previous research showed that resveratrol (trans-3,4',5-trihydroxystilbene) and pinostilbene (trans-3-methoxy-4',5-dihydroxystilbene) were able to inhibit tyrosinase directly; however, anti-melanogenic effects of pterostilbene (trans-3,5-dimethoxy-4'-hydroxystilbene) and resveratrol trimethyl ether (RTE) have not been compared. To investigate the hypopigmentation effects of pterostilbene and RTE, melanin contents and intracellular tyrosinase activity were determined by western blot analysis. Firstly, pterostilbene showed the inhibitory effects on ${\alpha}$-melanocyte stimulating hormone (MSH)-induced melanin synthesis stronger than RTE, resveratrol, and arbutin. Pterostilbene inhibited melanin biosynthesis in a dose-dependent manner in ${\alpha}$-MSH-stimulated B16/F10 murine melanoma cells. Specifically, melanin content and intracellular tyrosinase activity were inhibited by 63% and 58%, respectively, in response to treatment with $10{\mu}m$ of pterostilbene. The results of western blot analysis indicated that pterostilbene induced downregulation of tyrosinase protein expression and suppression of ${\alpha}$-MSH-stimulated melan-A protein expression stronger than RTE or resveratrol. Based on these results, our study suggests that pterostilbene can induce hypopigmentation effects more effectively than resveratrol and RTE, and it functions via downregulation of protein expression associated with hyperpigmentation in ${\alpha}$-MSH-triggered B16/F10 murine melanoma cells.