Inhibitory effects of macelignan isolated from Myristica fragrans HOUTT. on melanin biosynthesis.

The aim of this study was to investigate the in vitro inhibitory effects of macelignan isolated from Myristica fragrans HOUTT. on melanogenesis and its related enzymes such as tyrosinase, tyrosinase-related protein-1 (TRP-1), and tyrosinase-related protein-2 (TRP-2) in melan-a murine melanocytes. The IC50 values of macelignan for melanogenesis and tyrosinase were 13 microM and 30 microM, respectively, while those of arbutin as a positive control were 990 microM and 660 microM, respectively. In Western blot analysis, macelignan also significantly decreased tyrosinase, TRP-1, and TRP-2 protein expression. These results indicate that macelignan effectively inhibits melanin biosynthesis and thus could be employed as a new skin-whitening agent.