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. 2014 Mar 19:2014:213013.
doi: 10.1155/2014/213013. eCollection 2014.

Effect of Vetiveria zizanioides essential oil on melanogenesis in melanoma cells: downregulation of tyrosinase expression and suppression of oxidative stress

Hsin-Yi Peng  1 , Chin-Chun Lai  1 , Chih-Chien Lin  2 , Su-Tze Chou  1
Affiliations

Effect of Vetiveria zizanioides essential oil on melanogenesis in melanoma cells: downregulation of tyrosinase expression and suppression of oxidative stress

Hsin-Yi Peng et al. ScientificWorldJournal. .

Abstract

The major objective of this study was to estimate the hypopigmentation function of the essential oil from Vetiveria zizanioides (VZ-EO). Our results indicated that VZ-EO exhibits potent lipid peroxidation inhibitory activity to moderate the bleaching of β-carotene and to maintain the cellular glutathione (GSH) levels. VZ-EO can markedly decrease melanin production and tyrosinase activity in α-melanin-stimulating-hormone- (α-MSH-) stimulated B16 cells. The effect of VZ-EO on melanogenesis is achieved by the suppression of cellular tyrosinase expression. The results demonstrated that the activity of VZ-EO on melanogenesis might be the result of its potent antioxidative ability, which was reflected in the decreased cellular oxidant and malondialdehyde (MDA) levels and the recovered activities of superoxide dismutase (SOD), glutathione peroxidase (GPX), and catalase (CAT) in α-MSH-stimulated B16 cells. The most abundant compound in VZ-EO is cedr-8-en-13-ol (12.4%), which has a strong capability to inhibit lipid peroxidation. Therefore, VZ-EO has the potential to become an ingredient in future hypopigmentation drugs, foods, and cosmetics.

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Figures

Figure 1
Figure 1
The antioxidant activity of VZ-EO assessed using the β-carotene/linoleic acid bleaching method. The activity was measured by the changes in the absorbance at 470 nm. The data are the means ± S.D. (n = 3).
Figure 2
Figure 2
Effect of VZ-EO on the cell viability (a) and melanin content (b) in α-MSH-stimulated B16 cells. The data are means ± S.D. (n = 3). # indicates a significant difference (P < 0.05) compared with the control group; ∗ indicates a significant difference (P < 0.05) compared with the α-MSH-treated group.
Figure 3
Figure 3
Effect of VZ-EO on cellular tyrosinase activity (a) and protein expression (b) in α-MSH-stimulated B16 cells. The data are the means ± S.D. (n = 3). # indicates a significant difference (P < 0.05) compared with the control group; ∗ indicates a significant difference (P < 0.05) compared with the α-MSH-treated group.
Figure 4
Figure 4
Effect of VZ-EO on the MDA (a) and GSH (b) levels in α-MSH-stimulated B16 cells. The data are the means ± S.D. (n = 3). # indicates a significant difference (P < 0.05) compared with the control group; ∗ indicates a significant difference (P < 0.05) compared with the α-MSH-treated group.
Figure 5
Figure 5
Effect of VZ-EO on the activities of SOD (a), GPX (b), and CAT (c) in α-MSH-stimulated B16 cells. The data are the means ± S.D. (n = 3). # indicates a significant difference (P < 0.05) compared with the control group; ∗ indicates a significant difference (P < 0.05) compared with the α-MSH-treated group.
Figure 6
Figure 6
Proposed mechanisms for the effect of VZ-EO on melanogenesis in melanoma cells.
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