Abstract
Ultraviolet (UV) radiation exposure is the primary cause of extrinsic skin aging, which results in skin hyperpigmentation and wrinkling. In this study, we investigated the whitening effect of (2E,5E)-2,5-bis(3-hydroxy-4-methoxybenzylidene)cyclopentanone (BHCP) on B16F10 melanoma and its anti-wrinkle activity on Hs27 fibroblasts cells. BHCP was found to potently inhibit tyrosinase, with 50% inhibition concentration (IC(50)) values of 1.10 µM and 8.18 µM for monophenolase (l-tyrosine) and diphenolase (l-DOPA), and the enzyme kinetics study revealed that BHCP is a competitive-type tyrosinase inhibitor. Furthermore, BHCP significantly inhibited melanin content and cellular tyrosinase activity, and downregulated the levels of microphthalmia-associated transcription factor (MITF), phosphorylated levels of cAMP response element-binding (CREB) protein, and tyrosinase in α-melanocyte stimulating hormone (α-MSH)-induced B16F10 melanoma cells. Moreover, BHCP inhibited the phosphorylation of p65 and expression of matrix metalloproteinases (MMP-1, MMP-9, MMP-12, and MMP-13) in Hs27 fibroblasts stimulated with UV radiation. Therefore, our results demonstrate that BHCP may be a good candidate for the development of therapeutic agents for diseases associated with hyperpigmentation and wrinkling.