Abstract
BackgroundCoptis chinensis (C. chinensis) contains various antioxidants, including berberine, epiberberlin, ferulic acid, magnoflorine, palmatine, and worenine, which have antibacterial, anti-inflammatory, haemostatic, hypotensive, and anticancer effects. In the present study, the melanogenesis-inhibiting effects of C. chinensis were investigated and the molecular mechanisms were elucidated.MethodsThe melanogenesis-inhibiting effect of C. chinensis was verified by measuring melanin contents, melanogenesis-related tyrosinase activities, and mRNA and protein expression levels of tyrosinase and microphthalmia-associated transcription factor (MITF). In addition, changes in miR-340 expression by C. chinensis were verified, and the activity of the miR-340 binding site of the target MITF gene was determined using luciferase reporter assays.ResultsAssays of melanin contents showed that C. chinensis had a skin-whitening effect and controlled mRNA and protein expression levels of tyrosinase. However, C. chinensis controlled protein levels of MITF without affecting mRNA levels. Determinations of miR-340 expression, which directly influences MITF translation, showed increased miR-340 mRNA levels in the presence of C. chinensis. Finally, luciferase reporter assays of the binding site on MITF showed that C. chinensis inhibits melanogenesis by directly controlling the miR-340–MITF axis.ConclusionsThe results of the present study verified the skin-whitening effect of C. chinensis and its molecular mechanisms and indicated that C. chinensis has high potential as an ingredient in skin-whitening cosmetics.
Highlights
Coptis chinensis (C. chinensis) contains various antioxidants, including berberine, epiberberlin, ferulic acid, magnoflorine, palmatine, and worenine, which have antibacterial, anti-inflammatory, haemostatic, hypotensive, and anticancer effects
The results of the present study verified the skin-whitening effect of C. chinensis and its molecular mechanisms and indicated that C. chinensis has high potential as an ingredient in skin-whitening cosmetics
The present study shows that C. chinensis extracts inhibit melanogenesis by decreasing tyrosinase activity (Fig. 2a) and expression (Fig. 2b, d)
Summary
Coptis chinensis (C. chinensis) contains various antioxidants, including berberine, epiberberlin, ferulic acid, magnoflorine, palmatine, and worenine, which have antibacterial, anti-inflammatory, haemostatic, hypotensive, and anticancer effects. MITF is a critical transcription factor for melanogenesis and is known to enhance the transcription of tyrosinase and its related proteins TRP-1 and TRP-2 (Buscà and Ballotti 2000; Saha et al 2006). Α-MSH is produced by melanocytes, Langerhans cells, fibroblasts, and endotheliocytes and, in keratinocytes following exposure to ultraviolet light (Chakraborty et al 1996). Modulation of intracellular signal transduction by α-MSH is recognized as an important target for the control of melanogenesis (Nasti and Timares 2015). Multiple studies report effective skin-whitening effects of treatments that modulate MITF expression, and the melanogenic gene tyrosinases, TRP-1 and TRP-2, have been implicated, control of tyrosinase activity and expression did not affect melanogenesis in isolation
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