• Korean Journal of Korean Medical Institute of Dermatology and Aesthetics
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• v.1 no.1
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• pp.41-52
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• 2005

The aim of this study was to investigate the effect of Fructus Forsythiae on the melanogenesis. To determine whether Fructus Forsythiae methanol extract suppress melanin synthesis in cellular level, HM3KO human melanoma cells were cultured in the presence of various concentrations of Fructus Forsythiae methanol extract and the effects on cell proliferation, tyrosinase activity and melanin contents were examined. Treatment with Fructus Forsythiae methanol extract inhibited tyrosinase activity, regulate melanin biosynthesis as the key enzyme in melanogenesis, in a dose-dependent manner. And also suppressed melanin contents as a dose dependent manner without cytotoxicity morphological change. It was observed that the color of cell pellets was totally different from the control. These results suggest that the inhibitory effect of Fructus Forsythiae methanol extract on melanogenesis is due to the suppression of tyrosinase in HM3KO cells and Fructus Forsythiae is a candidate for an efficient whitening agent.

• Journal of Physiology & Pathology in Korean Medicine
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• v.18 no.3
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• pp.830-836
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• 2004

The unique biochemical pathways in melanocytes responsible for melanogenesis provide us with a rational mechanism-based means for developing both pharmacological regulators of pigmentation and cytotoxic chemotherapeutic drugs for melanoma, Myricetin is a polyphenolic antioxidant and a component from Biotae Semen, Biotae orientalis Folium. Therefore, the present study was conducted to evaluate the effects of myricetin on the melanogenesis in human melanoma (HM₃KO) cells. The cells were treated for 5 days with myricetin at several concentrations (10 - 100 μg/ml). Treatment with myricetin dose-dependently suppressed cell growth in HM₃KO cells, But melanin formation was markedly increased by myricetin as a dose dependent manner. Myricetin did not affect to tyrosinase activity, which is a key enzyme for melanogenesis, but significantly increased the level of tyrosinase protein expression, These results suggest that myricetin stimulate melanin synthesis of human melanoma cells through the modification of tyrosinase protein expression.

• Journal of Physiology & Pathology in Korean Medicine
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• v.17 no.2
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• pp.368-373
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• 2003

This study was conducted to evaluate the effects of Glycyrrhizae Radix water extract, known as depigmenting agent, on melanin biosynthesis in the HM3KO human melanoma cells. The inhibitory effect of Glycyrrhizae Radix water extract on melanogenesis was identified by mushroom tyrosinase assay in vitro. To determine whether Glycyrrhizae Radix water extract suppress melanin synthesis in cellular level, HM3KO cells were cultured in the presence of different concentrations of Glycyrrhizae Radix water extract and the effects on cell proliferation, melanin contents and tyrosinase activity were examined after 3 days. Treatment with Glycyrrhizae Radix at various concentrations did not exhibit any change of cell viability, and increased the cell proliferation. And the water extract of Glycyrrhizae Radix inhibited melanin contents and tyrosinase activity in a dose-dependent manner, compared with untreated group. These results suggest that the inhibitory effect of Glycyrrhizae Radix water extract on melanogenesis is due to the suppression of tyrosinase in HM3KO cells.

• Herbal Formula Science
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• v.10 no.2
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• pp.199-211
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• 2002

Acquired pigmentary skin diseases such as abnormal melanogenesis, vitiligo, chloasma and inflammatory pigmentation are related to regulate the melanin production. The aim of this study was to investigate the effect of Codonopsis lanceolata on the melanogenesis of HM3KO human melanoma cells biologically. The cells were treated for 5 days with Codonopsis lanceolata at several concentrations. Treatment with Codonopsis lanceolata suppressed melanin contents as a dose dependent manner without cytotoxicity and morphological change. And the extract of Codonopsis lanceolata also inhibited tyrosinase, a key enzyme forming melanin, in a dose-dependent manner. And it did not affect the DOPAchrome tautomerase(TRP-2) activity. These results suggest that Codonopsis lanceolata is a candidate for an efficient whitening agent which supresses melanogenesis by a Raper-Mason pathway.

• Journal of Physiology & Pathology in Korean Medicine
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• v.22 no.2
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• pp.371-376
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• 2008

In this study, we have investigated the hypo-pigmentary mechanism of methanol extract of Forsythiae Fructus in human melanocyte cell line, HM3KO. Treatment of HM3KO cells with Forsythiae Fructus extract markedly inhibited melanin biosynthesis in a dose-dependent manner. Decreased melanin contents occurred through the decrease of tyrosinase protein and activity. The mRNA levels of tyrosinase and tyrosinase-related protein 1 (TRP-1) were also reduced by Forsythiae Fructus extract. Moreover, the level of intracellular cyclic AMP (cAMP) was significantly decreased by treatment of Forsythiae Fructus extract. These results suggest that Forsythiae Fructus reduces melanin synthesis by down regulation of tyrosinase mRNA transcription, and this is closely related to the cAMP-dependent pathway.

• The Journal of Korean Medicine Ophthalmology and Otolaryngology and Dermatology
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• v.15 no.2
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• pp.20-32
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• 2002

The aim of this study was to investigate the effect of Codonopsis lanceolatae on the melanogenesis of HM3KO human melanoma cells biologically. The cells were treated for 3 days and 5 days with Codonopsis lanceolatae at several concentrations. The effects on tyrosinase activity and melanin contents were examined. And DOPAchrome tautomerase(TRP-2) activity was also examined to search a pathway influencing this inhibitory effect. 1. It was examined mushroom tyrosinase activity was significantly inhibited by Codonopsis lanceolatae. 2. Treatment with Codonopsis lanceolatae did not affect cell viability at the highest concentration, 1 ㎎／ml, and suppressed melanin contents as a time and dose dependent manner. 3. It was investigated treatment with Codonopsis lanceolatae inhibited tyrosinase, a key enzyme forming melanin, activity in a dose-dependent manner. 4. Treatment with Codonopsis lanceolatae did not affect DOPAchrome tautomerase(TRP-2) activity. 5. There was not a morphological change by Codonopsis lanceolatae microscopically. These results suggest that Codonopsis lanceolatae is a candidate for an efficient whitening agent which supresses melanogenesis by a Raper-Mason pathway.

• Journal of Life Science
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• v.32 no.5
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• pp.355-361
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• 2022

Melanin pigments are the main cause of skin color. They are produced in melanocytes and then transferred to keratinocytes, which eventually gives the skin surface a variety of colors. Although many skin-lightening or depigmenting agents have been developed, the demand for materials to reduce pig- mentation is still increasing. Here, we tried to find materials for skin-lightening or depigmentation using natural compounds and found that mistletoe (Viscum album var. coloratum) extracts (ME) had an inhibitory effect on tyrosinase activity. As a result, ME significantly reduced pigmentation in human primary melanocytes. In addition, a promoter reporter assay revealed that ME inhibited the transcription of microphthalmia-associated transcription factor (MITF), melanophilin (MLPH), tyrosinase-related protein-2 (TRP-2), and tyrosinase (TYR) genes in HM3KO melanoma cells. In addition, ME decreased the protein level for pigmentation-related molecules, such as TYR and TRP-1. Furthermore, it markedly inhibited the melanogenesis of zebrafish embryos, an in vivo evaluation model for pigmentation. To elucidate the action mechanism of ME, we investigated its effects on intracellular signaling. Eventually, the ME dramatically decreased the phosphorylation of the cAMP responsive element binding protein (CREB), AKT, and ERK. The data suggest that ME may inhibit the melanogenesis pathway by regulating the signaling pathway related to pigmentation. Taken together, these data propose that ME can be developed as a depigmenting or skin-lightening agent.