Truong Xuan T, Park Seo-Hee, Lee Yu-Geon, Jeong Hang Yeon, Moon Jae-Hak, Jeon Tae-Il
Department of Animal Science, Chonnam National University, Gwangju 61186, Korea.
Department of Food Science and Technology, BK21 Plus Program, Chonnam National University, Gwangju 61186, Korea.
Int J Mol Sci. 2017 Aug 21;18(8):1809. doi: 10.3390/ijms18081809.
Despite the critical role of melanin in the protection of skin against UV radiation, excess production of melanin can lead to hyperpigmentation and skin cancer. Pear fruits are often used in traditional medicine for the treatment of melasma; therefore, we investigated the effects of pear extract (PE) and its component, protocatechuic acid (PCA), on melanogenesis in mouse melanoma cells. We found that PE and PCA significantly suppressed melanin content and cellular tyrosinase activity through a decrease in the expression of melanogenic enzymes and microphthalmia-associated transcription factor () in α-melanocyte stimulating hormone-stimulated mouse melanoma cells. Moreover, PCA decreased cyclic adenosine monophosphate (cAMP) levels and cAMP-responsive element-binding protein phosphorylation, which downregulated promoter activation and subsequently mediated the inhibition of melanogenesis. These results suggested that pear may be an effective skin lightening agent that targets either a tyrosinase activity or a melanogenic pathway.
尽管黑色素在保护皮肤免受紫外线辐射方面起着关键作用，但黑色素的过量产生会导致色素沉着过度和皮肤癌。梨果常用于传统医学中治疗黄褐斑；因此，我们研究了梨提取物（PE）及其成分原儿茶酸（PCA）对小鼠黑色素瘤细胞黑色素生成的影响。我们发现，在α-黑素细胞刺激激素刺激的小鼠黑色素瘤细胞中，PE和PCA通过降低黑色素生成酶和小眼畸形相关转录因子（）的表达，显著抑制了黑色素含量和细胞酪氨酸酶活性。此外，PCA降低了环磷酸腺苷（cAMP）水平和cAMP反应元件结合蛋白的磷酸化，下调了启动子激活，随后介导了对黑色素生成的抑制。这些结果表明，梨可能是一种有效的皮肤美白剂，其作用靶点可能是酪氨酸酶活性或黑色素生成途径。
