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Review
. 2025 Jul 2:16:1610623.
doi: 10.3389/fphar.2025.1610623. eCollection 2025.

Research progress on peptides that inhibit melanin synthesis

Binrui Yu  1 , Nailong Wang  2 , Shanshan Cai  3 , Hao Yan  4 , Shaojia Sun  2 , Siru Wang  5 , Ye Li  6 , Zhengting Liang  2
Affiliations
Review

Research progress on peptides that inhibit melanin synthesis

Binrui Yu et al. Front Pharmacol. .

Abstract

Melanin produced by melanocytes, primarily determines human skin color and protects against ultraviolet radiation. However, excessive melanin deposition can lead to skin conditions such as freckles, age spots, and moles, potentially causing aesthetic concerns and psychological distress. Consequently, there is significant research interest in developing safe and effective whitening products that inhibit melanin synthesis. Bioactive peptides represent a promising compound category that effectively reduces melanin synthesis with minimal side effects. This review explores melanin pigmentation, identifies sources of peptides that inhibit melanin synthesis, and elucidates the mechanisms by which these peptides operate, aiming to contribute to developing novel whitening products.

Keywords: bioactive peptides; excessive deposition; inhibition; melanin; tyrosinase; whitening.

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Conflict of interest statement

The authors declare that the research was conducted in the absence of any commercial or financial relationships that could be construed as a potential conflict of interest.

Figures

FIGURE 1
FIGURE 1
Biosynthesis pathway of melanin in vivo.
FIGURE 2
FIGURE 2
Mechanism of inhibiting melanin synthesis by bioactive peptides.
FIGURE 3
FIGURE 3
The figure shows the molecular docking diagram of tyrosinase and peptide, where (A) is the 3D and 2D docking model of VY-9 peptide and TYR (Sangtanoo et al., 2024), (B) contains multi-angle views: different conformations of the enzyme-peptide complex (including the docking model of NYRRE, RHAKF and TYR) are at the top Skin-care functions (Deng et al., 2020). (C) is the docking model of FRAF and TYR, MITF, TYR1 and TYR2 (Bai et al., 2024).
FIGURE 4
FIGURE 4
(A) Relationship between tyrosinase inhibitory ability of peptide and its length and hydrophilicity (B). Proportion of amino acids in peptides with tyrosinase inhibitory activity.
See this image and copyright information in PMC

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