Melanogenesis Inhibitory Activity of Epicatechin-3-OGallate Isolated from Polygonum amphibium L

This study aimed to investigate the melanogenesis inhibitory activity of epicatechin-3-O-gallate (ECG) isolated from Polygonum amphibium L. ECG was isolated from the ethanol extract of P. amphibium L, and its chemical structure was determined using spectroscopic methods such as LC-ESI-MS, 1D-NMR, and UV spectroscopy. ECG inhibited the melanogenesis of B16F10 cells in a dose-dependent manner. Particularly, it decreased the melanin content by 27.4% at 200 μM concentration, compared with the control, in B16F10 cells, without causing cytotoxicity. It is noteworthy that the expression of three key proteins, including tyrosinase, tyrosinase-related protein-1 (TRP-1), TRP-2, and microphthalmia-associated transcription factor (MITF), involved in melanogenesis, is significantly inhibited by ECG. The ECG isolated in this study caused the inhibition of body pigmentation and tyrosinase activity in vivo in the zebrafish model. These results suggest that the ECG isolated from P. amphibium L. is an effective anti-melanogenesis agent. KCI Citation Count: 0