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. 2024 Oct 2;25(19):10624.
doi: 10.3390/ijms251910624.

Anti-Melanogenic Effects of a Polysaccharide Isolated from Undaria pinnatifida Sporophyll Extracts

Jae-Hoon Kim  1   2 , Jeong-Heon Kim  1 , Jae-Hoon Lee  3 , Su-Jin Eom  1 , Nam-Hyouck Lee  1   4 , Saerom Lee  4 , Tae-Gyu Lim  2   5 , Kyung-Mo Song  6 , Min-Cheol Kang  1
Affiliations

Anti-Melanogenic Effects of a Polysaccharide Isolated from Undaria pinnatifida Sporophyll Extracts

Jae-Hoon Kim et al. Int J Mol Sci. .

Abstract

Undaria pinnatifida is a temperate brown alga known to exert free radical-scavenging and anti-inflammatory effects. In this study, we investigated the skin-whitening effects of U. pinnatifida sporophyll extracts (UPEs) in α-melanocyte-stimulating hormone (α-MSH)-stimulated B16F10 melanoma cells. The crude polysaccharide fraction (UPF) was obtained via ethanol precipitation. Four polysaccharide fractions (UPF1-4) were isolated and purified using ion-exchange column chromatography, and their anti-melanogenic activity was evaluated. UPF3 exhibited the highest anti-melanogenic activity, showing the highest sulfate (39.79%), fucose (143 μg/mg), and galactose (208 μg/mg) contents. UPF3 significantly inhibited intracellular tyrosinase activity in B16F10 cells. We also evaluated the melanogenic signaling pathway to determine the mechanism of action of UPF3 in melanongenesis. UPF3 reduced the expression of tyrosinase-related protein-1 (TRP-1), tyrosinase-related protein-2 (TRP-2), and tyrosinase, which play important roles in melanin production. Therefore, UPF3 has high potential for use in skin-whitening functional pharmaceuticals and cosmetics.

Keywords: Undaria pinnatifida sporophyll; melanin; polysaccharide; tyrosinase.

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Conflict of interest statement

Authors Nam-Hyouck Lee and Saerom Lee are employed by the company 3FC Corporation. The remaining authors declare that the research was conducted in the absence of any commercial or financial relationships that could be construed as potential conflicts of interest.

Figures

Figure 1
Figure 1
DEAE–cellulose chromatogram of polysaccharides from Undaria pinnatifida sporophyll crude polysaccharides.
Figure 2
Figure 2
Cytotoxicity of UPEs on B16F10 cells. * p < 0.05, ** p < 0.01, and *** p < 0.001 compared to the untreated control group.
Figure 3
Figure 3
Melanogenic effects of UPEs on B16F10 cells. (A) Extracellular melanin contents of UPEs. (B) Intracellular melanin contents of UPF1 and UPF3. (C) Cellular tyrosinase activity of UPF1 and UPF3. (D) Extracellular melanin content image of UPF3. (E) Cellular tyrosinase activity determined by L-DOPA staining assay. ### p < 0.001 compared to the untreated control group. ** p < 0.01, and *** p < 0.001 compared to the α-MSH-treated group.
Figure 4
Figure 4
Effects of UPF3 on melanogenesis-related signaling pathways as assessed by Western blot in B16F10 cells. ### p < 0.001 compared to the untreated control group. * p < 0.05, ** p < 0.01, and *** p < 0.001 compared to the α-MSH-treated group.
See this image and copyright information in PMC

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