Glabrene and isoliquiritigenin as tyrosinase inhibitors from licorice roots
Abstract
Tyrosinase is known to be a key enzyme in melanin biosynthesis, involved in determining the color of mammalian skin and hair. Various dermatological disorders, such as melasama, age spots, and sites of actinic damage, arise from the accumulation of an excessive level of epidermal pigmentation. The inadequacy of current therapies to treat these conditions as well as high cytotoxicity and mutagenicity, poor skin penetration, and low stability of formulations led us to seek new whitening agents to meet the medical requirements for depigmenting agents. The inhibitory effect of licorice extract on tyrosinase activity was higher than that expected from the level of glabridin in the extract. This led us to test for other components that may contribute to this strong inhibitory activity. Results indicated that glabrene and isoliquiritigenin (2',4',4-trihydroxychalcone) in the licorice extract can inhibit both mono- and diphenolase tyrosinase activities. The IC(50) values for glabrene and isoliquiritigenin were 3.5 and 8.1 microM, respectively, when tyrosine was used as substrate. The effects of glabrene and isoliquiritigenin on tyrosinase activity were dose-dependent and correlated to their ability to inhibit melanin formation in melanocytes. This is the first study indicating that glabrene and isoliquiritigenin exert varying degrees of inhibition on tyrosinase-dependent melanin biosynthesis, suggesting that isoflavenes and chalcones may serve as candidates for skin-lightening agents…
Integrity signals
Registry
Cites
Statistics
Claims the paper makes
Claims other papers make about this one
Each is checked against this paper’s own text: does it say what the citing paper says it does?
The effects of glabrene and isoliquiritigenin on tyrosinase activity were dose-dependent and correlated with their ability to inhibit melanin formation in melanocytes.
“The effects of glabrene and isoliquiritigenin on tyrosinase activity were dose-dependent and correlated to their ability to inhibit melanin formation in melanocytes [42].”
From Licorice (Glycyrrhiza glabra, G. uralensis, and G. inflata) and Their Constituents as Active Cosmeceutical Ingredients (2022) · cites this paper as [42]
Glabrene and isoliquiritigenin inhibited both mono- and diphenolase tyrosinase activities.
“In particular, glabrene and isoliquiritigenin inhibited both mono-and diphenolase tyrosinase activities.”
From Licorice (Glycyrrhiza glabra, G. uralensis, and G. inflata) and Their Constituents as Active Cosmeceutical Ingredients (2022) · cites this paper as [42]
The IC50 values for glabrene and isoliquiritigenin were 3.5 and 8.1 μM, respectively, when tyrosine was used as substrate.
“The IC 50 values for glabrene and isoliquiritigenin were 3.5 and 8.1 µM, respectively, when tyrosine was used as substrate.”
From Licorice (Glycyrrhiza glabra, G. uralensis, and G. inflata) and Their Constituents as Active Cosmeceutical Ingredients (2022) · cites this paper as [42]
Cites
The protease-activated receptor 2 regulates pigmentation via keratinocyte-melanocyte interactions
Seiberg, M., Paine, C., Sharlow, E., Andrade-Gordon, P., Costanzo, M., Eisinger, M., & Shapiro, S. S. (2000) · Experimental Cell Research · doi:10.1006/excr.1999.4692 · Cited by 238 · see citing works
Inhibition of Melanosome Transfer Results in Skin Lightening1
Seiberg, M., Paine, C., Sharlow, E., Eisinger, M., Shapiro, S. S., Andrade-Gordon, P., & Costanzo, M. (2000) · Journal of Investigative Dermatology · doi:10.1046/j.1523-1747.2000.00035.x · Cited by 238 · see citing works
Flagged first, then by citations
Cited by
Sorted by citations
Liquorice ( <scp> <i>Glycyrrhiza glabra</i> </scp> ): A phytochemical and pharmacological review
Pastorino, G., Cornara, L., Soares, S., Rodrigues, F., & Oliveira, M. B. P. P. (2018) · Phytotherapy Research · doi:10.1002/ptr.6178 · Cited by 804 · see citing works
Zhu, W., & Gao, J. (2008) · Journal of Investigative Dermatology Symposium Proceedings · doi:10.1038/jidsymp.2008.8 · Cited by 277 · see citing works
The new challenge of green cosmetics: natural food ingredients for cosmetic formulations
Dini, I., & Laneri, S. (2021) · Molecules · doi:10.3390/molecules26133921 · Cited by 217 · see citing works
Skin whitening cosmetics: feedback and challenges in the development of natural skin lighteners
Burger, P., Landreau, A., Azoulay, S., Michel, T., & Fernandez, X. (2016) · Cosmetics · doi:10.3390/cosmetics3040036 · Cited by 152 · see citing works
Cerulli, A., Masullo, M., Montoro, P., & Piacente, S. (2022) · Cosmetics · doi:10.3390/cosmetics9010007 · Cited by 83 · see citing works
Yang, Z., Zeng, B., Pan, Y., Huang, P., & Wang, C. (2018) · Biomedicine & Pharmacotherapy · doi:10.1016/j.biopha.2017.10.070 · Cited by 48 · see citing works
Dong, Y., Zhao, M., Zhao, T., Feng, M., Chen, H., Zhuang, M., & Lin, L. (2014) · Molecules · doi:10.3390/molecules19079101 · Cited by 47 · see citing works
- Authors
- Nerya, O., Vaya, J., Musa, R., Izrael, S., Ben-Arie, R., & Tamir, S.
- Affiliations
- Migal - Galilee Technology Center (IL)
- ORCID
- Tamir, Snait
- Venue
- Journal of Agricultural and Food Chemistry
- Publisher
- American Chemical Society (ACS)
- Published
- 2003-02-01
- Volume
- 51
- Issue
- 5
- Pages
- 1201-1207
- ISSN
- 0021-8561 (ISSN-L)
- 1520-5118
- OpenAlex
- W2065924132
- Cited by
- 297
- References
- 2
- Citations by year
- 2026: 10 · 2025: 8 · 2024: 11 · 2023: 10 · 2022: 15 · 2021: 20 · 2020: 11 · 2019: 15 · 2018: 14 · 2017: 18 · 2016: 14 · 2015: 16 · 2014: 16 · 2013: 16 · 2012: 11
- FWCI
- 2.92
- Type
- journal article
- Language
- en
- Open access
- closed
- Locations
- Journal of Agricultural and Food Chemistry (publishedVersion)
- PubMed (publishedVersion)
- Topics
- Life Sciences › Biochemistry, Genetics and Molecular Biology › Cell Biology › melanin and skin pigmentation
- Life Sciences › Pharmacology, Toxicology and Pharmaceutics › Pharmacology › Pharmacological Effects of Natural Compounds
- Life Sciences › Biochemistry, Genetics and Molecular Biology › Molecular Biology › Bioactive natural compounds
- Keywords
- isoliquiritigenin, tyrosinase inhibition, licorice root, melanogenesis, skin whitening products, depigmenting agents, chalcones, melanocytes, hyperpigmentation
- MeSH terms
- Cells, Cultured, Chalcone, Dose-Response Relationship, Drug, Glycyrrhiza, Humans, Isoflavones, Kinetics, Melanins, Melanocytes, Peptides, Phenols, Plant Extracts, Structure-Activity Relationship, Monophenol Monooxygenase, Tyrosine, Plant Roots, Chalcones
About these checks
Registry, retraction, Cites and statistics results are computed, not judged, with one exception: a printed reference that no index lists is read once by a model before it counts as a citation error. Claims are extracted by a model and kept only when their quote appears verbatim in the text; each cited source is then checked, with a model’s help, for whether it says what the claim relies on. Those verdicts can be wrong — read the claim’s quote and the cited source before relying on one.
Statistics and arithmetic are recomputed, not judged.
Confidence bands are shown only for fields calibrated on our annotated test set. None is calibrated yet, so no band is shown.
What counts as a claim ›How we measure confidence ›How we check this ›
Are you an author, or do you see a problem with this page? Request a review
