Anti-Melanogenic Potential of Malabar Spinach () in Human Melanoma Cells with Oxidative Stress Suppression and Anti-Inflammatory Activities.

has been used in Thai remedies to treat skin disorders, but scientific evidence supporting its efficacy is currently limited. In this study, we investigated the inhibitory effects of extracts on melanin production using melanoma cells, as well as their impact on oxidative stress and inflammation in keratinocytes. The results demonstrate that extracts inhibited melanin content and cellular tyrosinase activity in 3-isobutyl-1-methylxanthine (IBMX)-induced melanoma cells by downregulating and the pigmentary genes , , and Interestingly, the regulator gene was inhibited by both the 50% and 95% ethanolic extracts of with levels of 0.97 ± 0.19 and 0.92 ± 0.09 of the control, respectively, which are comparable to those observed in the arbutin treatment group at 0.84 ± 0.05 of the control. Moreover, after hydrogen peroxide (HO) exposure, pretreatment with reduced lipid peroxidation byproducts and increased the levels of antioxidant-related genes, including , , and . Notably, the suppression of the promoter gene in keratinocytes was observed, which may disrupt melanogenesis in melanocytes involving the signaling pathway. mRNA expression decreased in the treatments with 50% and 95% ethanolic extracts of , with relative levels of 0.97 ± 0.18 and 0.90 ± 0.10 of the control, respectively, similar to the arbutin-treated group (0.88 ± 0.25 of control). A significant reduction in nitric oxide was also observed in the -treated groups, along with a decrease in genes associated with pro-inflammatory cytokines, including , , and . These findings suggest that has potential in the prevention of skin-related problems.