earticle

영어

Melanin is a pigment that plays an important role in providing coloration and protecting human skin from the harmful effects of UV light radiation. However, the overproduction and accumulation of melanin in the skin could lead to a serious skin disorders. To treat hyperpigmentating diseases such as such as melasma and lentigines, a number of melanogenesis inhibitors have been screened for their effectiveness in reducing melanin but none are completely satisfactory. M uch effort has been paid to develop new therapeutic agents against pigmentation abnormalities, especially using novel biologically active compounds from natural plants. To develop new and safe skin whitening agents from micro algae, several species of Chlorella have been evaluated. From our screening results, Chlorella kessleri culture broth extract can inhibit melanin synthesis of murine B16F10 melanoma cells in a dose dependent manner and exhibited no cytotoxicity up to a concentration of 200 ug/ml. Inhibitory activity on tyrosinase, the key enzyme of melanogenesis, and antioxidant activity were further investigated. This culture broth
extract exhibited no inhibitory effects. Based on DPPH assay, this culture medium extract showed minimal antioxidant activity. These results suggest that Chlorella kessleri culture broth extract could be a high potential candidate as a skin depigmenting agent. To isolate the active components in this plant, solvent-solvent partition was performed. The chloroform fraction showed significant inhibition properties on melanin synthesis with low toxicity. For further isolating the effective compound, silica open column chromatography and high performance liquid chromatography were used.