Skin-whitening effects of hot water extract from domestic edible mushrooms

Abstract

: Hot water extracts from 16 domestic edible mushrooms including Pleurotus ferulae (Lanzi) X.L. Mao, Lentinula edodes (Berk.) Pegler, and Hypsizygus marmoreus (Peck) H.E. Bigelow, which are commercially available, were used for determining the cosmetic potential of these mushrooms. In this study, we carried out in vitro functional experiments to determine the inhibitory effects of these extracts on L-DOPA oxidation of tyrosinase and melanin synthesis. Based on the results of these experiments , H. marmoreus (Peck) H.E. Bigelow No. 10 and No. 15 were selected for further analysis. We analyzed the melanin synthesis inhibitory activity, TRP1 and MITF expression via real-time PCR, and Fontana Masson staining in artificial skin Neoderm®-ME. Taken together, we observed that the hot water extract from H. marmoreus (Peck) H.E. Bigelow (No. 15) had better whitening effect than the extracts of other mushrooms. Thus, it can be a potential source of skin-whitening agent.