title: Cornus officinalis Methanol Extract Upregulates Melanogenesis in Melan-a Cells.
abstract: Cornus officinalis is widely distributed in Korea, and its fruit has been used to make as herbal drug for traditional medicine in Korea, Japan, and China because of its tonic, analgesic, and diuretic properties. However, the effects of C. officinalis methanol extract (COME) on melanogenesis remain poorly understood. We evaluated the melanogenic capability of COME in melan-a cells, which are immortalized mouse melanocytes. COME increased melanin synthesis in a dose-dependent manner. Treatment with 12.5 μg/mL of COME significantly increased melanin content by 36.1% (p < 0.001) to a level even higher than that (31.6%) of 3-isobutyl-1-methyl-xanthine, a well-known pigmentation agent. COME also upregulated tyrosinase activity and its messenger RNA and protein expression. In addition, COME upregulated the expression of tyrosinase-related proteins 1 and 2 and microphthalmia-associated transcription factor-M messenger RNA expression. These results imply that COME may be appropriate for development as a natural product to treat hair graying.
authors.affiliation: Major in Public Health, Faculty of Food & Health Sciences, Keimyung University, Daegu, Korea.
authors.forename: Yun Ah
authors.initials: YA
authors.lastname: An
authors.affiliation: Major in Public Health, Faculty of Food & Health Sciences, Keimyung University, Daegu, Korea.
authors.forename: Ji Yeon
authors.initials: JY
authors.lastname: Hwang
authors.affiliation: Department of Beauty Design, Gyongbuk Science College, Gyongbuk, Korea.
authors.forename: Jae Soon
authors.initials: JS
authors.lastname: Lee
authors.affiliation: Major in Public Health, Faculty of Food & Health Sciences, Keimyung University, Daegu, Korea.
authors.forename: Young Chul
authors.initials: YC
authors.lastname: Kim
keywords: Cornus officinalis; Hair graying; Melan-a cells; Melanogenesis; Tyrosinase activity