Abstract
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.