title: From miso, saké and shoyu to cosmetics: a century of science for kojic acid.
abstract: This article reviews the curious history of kojic acid, discovered as a fungal natural product in 1907. It was one of the first secondary metabolites to have its biosynthetic pathway studied by the isotope tracer technique, and, more recently, has been of interest as a skin lightening agent. There are 112 references.
authors.affiliation: Department of Biological Sciences, University of Pittsburgh, Pittsburgh, PA 15260, USA.
authors.forename: Ronald
authors.initials: R
authors.lastname: Bentley
mesh_terms: D001230:Aspergillus / Q000378:metabolism*; D003358:Cosmetics / Q000737:chemistry / Q000302:isolation & purification / Q000494:pharmacology; D011753:Pyrones / Q000737:chemistry / Q000302:isolation & purification / Q000494:pharmacology; D012867:Skin / Q000187:drug effects*; D045730:Soy Foods
chemical_list: D003358:Cosmetics; D011753:Pyrones; C011890:kojic acid