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Cited by 80Bioactive natural compoundsmelanin and skin pigmentationPhytochemistry and Biological Activities

Anti-Melanogenic Properties of Greek Plants. A Novel Depigmenting Agent from Morus alba Wood

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Chaita, Eliza, Lambrinidis, George, Cheimonidi, Christina, Agalou, Adamantia, Beis, Dimitris, Trougakos, Ioannis, Mikros, Emmanuel, Skaltsounis, Alexios-Leandros +1 more·2017·Molecules
DOI 10.3390/molecules22040514PMC PMC6154579
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Abstract

In therapeutic interventions associated with melanin hyperpigmentation, tyrosinase is regarded as a target enzyme as it catalyzes the rate-limiting steps in mammalian melanogenesis. Since many known agents have been proven to be toxic, there has been increasing impetus to identify alternative tyrosinase inhibitors, especially from natural sources. In this study, we investigated 900 extracts from Greek plants for potential tyrosinase inhibitive properties. Among the five most potent extracts, the methanol extract of Morus alba wood (MAM) demonstrated a significant reduction in intracellular tyrosinase and melanin content in B16F10 melanoma cells. Bioassay-guided isolation led to the acquisition of twelve compounds: oxyresveratrol (1), kuwanon C (2), mulberroside A (3), resorcinol (4), dihydrooxyresveratol (5), trans-dihydromorin (6), 2,4,3′-trihydroxydihydrostilbene (7), kuwanon H (8), 2,4-dihydroxybenzaldehyde (9), morusin (10), moracin M (11) and kuwanon G (12). Among these, 2,4,3′-trihydroxydihydrostilbene (7) is isolated for the first time from Morus alba and constitutes a novel potent tyrosinase inhibitor (IC50 0.8 ± 0.15). We report here for the first time dihydrooxyresveratrol (5) as a potent natural tyrosinase inhibitor (IC50 0.3 ± 0.05). Computational docking analysis indicated the binding modes of six tyrosinase inhibitors with the aminoacids of the active centre of tyrosinase. Finally, we found both MAM extract and compounds 1, 6 and 7 to significantly suppress in vivo melanogenesis during zebrafish embryogenesis.

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  • Methanol and ethyl-acetate extracts of licorice roots exhibited significant activity with low IC50 values (2.1 and 4.7 μg/mL).

    “Methanol and ethyl-acetate extracts of licorice roots exhibited significant activity with low IC50 values (2.1 and 4.7 µg/mL) [38].”

    From Licorice (Glycyrrhiza glabra, G. uralensis, and G. inflata) and Their Constituents as Active Cosmeceutical Ingredients (2022) · cites this paper as [38]

    Results §2.1 reports that both Glycyrrhiza glabra extracts had strong anti-melanogenic activity, with IC50 values of 2.1 ± 0.1 and 4.7 ± 0.3 µg/mL; Methods §3.2 confirms that methanol and ethyl-acetate extracts were prepared. Our copy does not identify the tested licorice plant part as roots, so that detail is unsupported. (LLM, conf=0.84)

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Authors
Chaita, E., Lambrinidis, G., Cheimonidi, C., Agalou, A., Beis, D., Trougakos, I., Mikros, E., Skaltsounis, A.-L., & Aligiannis, N.
Affiliations
  • National and Kapodistrian University of Athens (GR)
  • Academy of Athens (GR)
  • Division of Pharmacognosy and Natural Product Chemistry, Department of Pharmacy, National & Kapodistrian University of Athens, Panepistimiopolis Zografou, GR-15771 Athens, Greece
Corresponding author
Aligiannis, Nektarios
ORCID
Venue
Molecules
Publisher
MDPI AG
Published
2017-03-23
Volume
22
Issue
4
Pages
514
ISSN
1420-3049 (ISSN-L)
DOI
10.3390/molecules22040514
PMC
PMC6154579
OpenAlex
W2602846841
Cited by
80
References
40
Citations by year
2026: 2 · 2025: 8 · 2024: 13 · 2023: 12 · 2022: 11 · 2021: 10 · 2020: 9 · 2019: 5 · 2018: 9 · 2017: 1
FWCI
2.68
Type
journal article
Language
en
Open access
Licence
Locations
  • Molecules (publishedVersion, cc-by)
  • Europe PMC (PubMed Central) (publishedVersion, other-oa)
  • PubMed Central (publishedVersion, cc-by)
  • PubMed (publishedVersion)
Funders
European Commission
Topics
  • Life Sciences › Biochemistry, Genetics and Molecular Biology › Molecular Biology › Bioactive natural compounds
  • Life Sciences › Biochemistry, Genetics and Molecular Biology › Cell Biology › melanin and skin pigmentation
  • Life Sciences › Agricultural and Biological Sciences › Plant Science › Phytochemistry and Biological Activities
Keywords
tyrosinase inhibition, melanogenesis, depigmenting agents, oxyresveratrol, morusin, moracin M, B16F10 melanoma cells, zebrafish embryonic development, natural products, structure-activity relationship
MeSH terms
Methanol, Animals, Enzyme Inhibitors, Melanins, Melanoma, Plant Extracts, Monophenol Monooxygenase, Hyperpigmentation, Morus, Cell Line, Tumor, Mice, Molecular Docking Simulation

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