title: Royal jelly reduces melanin synthesis through down-regulation of tyrosinase expression.
abstract: For cosmetic reasons, the demand for effective and safe skin-whitening agents is high. Since the key enzyme in the melanin synthetic pathway is tyrosinase, many depigmenting agents in the treatment of hyperpigmentation act as tyrosinase inhibitors. In this study, we have investigated the hypo-pigmentary mechanism of royal jelly in a mouse melanocyte cell line, B16F1. Treatment of B16F1 cells with royal jelly markedly inhibited melanin biosynthesis in a dose-dependent manner. Decreased melanin content occurred through the decrease of tyrosinase activity. The mRNA levels of tyrosinase were also reduced by royal jelly. These results suggest that royal jelly reduces melanin synthesis by down-regulation of tyrosinase mRNA transcription and serves as a new candidate in the design of new skin-whitening or therapeutic agents.
authors.affiliation: Laboratory of Applied Material Science, Department of Agricultural Biology, National Institute of Agricultural Science and Technology, RDA, Suwon, South Korea.
authors.forename: Sang Mi
authors.initials: SM
authors.lastname: Han
authors.forename: Joo Hong
authors.initials: JH
authors.lastname: Yeo
authors.forename: Yoon Hee
authors.initials: YH
authors.lastname: Cho
authors.forename: Sok Cheon
authors.initials: SC
authors.lastname: Pak
mesh_terms: D000818:Animals; D001516:Bees; D002460:Cell Line; D003879:Dermatologic Agents / Q000494:pharmacology*; D015536:Down-Regulation / Q000187:drug effects*; D004791:Enzyme Inhibitors / Q000494:pharmacology*; D005227:Fatty Acids / Q000494:pharmacology*; D015971:Gene Expression Regulation, Enzymologic / Q000187:drug effects; D006801:Humans; D008543:Melanins / Q000096:biosynthesis*; D051379:Mice; D014442:Monophenol Monooxygenase / Q000037:antagonists & inhibitors / Q000235:genetics* / Q000378:metabolism; D010860:Pigments, Biological / Q000096:biosynthesis*; D012867:Skin / Q000187:drug effects / Q000201:enzymology* / Q000378:metabolism; D000099219:Royal Jelly
chemical_list: D003879:Dermatologic Agents; D004791:Enzyme Inhibitors; D005227:Fatty Acids; D008543:Melanins; D014442:Monophenol Monooxygenase; D010860:Pigments, Biological; D000099219:Royal Jelly