Inhibition of tyrosinase activity by N,N-unsubstituted selenourea derivatives

This study investigated inhibitory effects of N,N-unsubstituted selenourea derivatives on tyrosinase activity. Three types of N,N-unsubstituted selenoureas derivatives exhibited inhibitory effect on dopa (3,4-dihydroxyphenylalanine) oxidase activity of mushroom tyrosinase. Compound D at a concentration of 200 microM exhibited 55.5% of inhibition on dopa oxidase activity of mushroom tyrosinase. This inhibitory effect was higher than that of kojic acid (39.4%), a well known tyrosinase inhibitor. Moreover, the compound D identified as a noncompetitive inhibitor by Lineweaver-Burk plot analysis. In addition, compound D also inhibited the melanin production in melan-a cells.