Aromatic-turmerone inhibits α-MSH and IBMX-induced melanogenesis by inactivating CREB and MITF signaling pathways

This study investigated the anti-melanogenic effect of aromatic (ar)-turmerone on alpha-melanocyte stimulating hormone (α-MSH) and 3-isobuty-1-methxlzanthine (IBMX)-induced tyrosinase (Tyr), tyrosinase-related protein 1 (TRP-1), and tyrosinase-related protein 2 (TRP-2) expression in B16F10 melanoma cells. We demonstrated that ar-turmerone inhibits α-MSH and IBMX-induced melanin synthesis and tyrosinase activity. Data also showed that ar-turmerone inhibits the expression of tyrosinase, TRP-1, and TRP-2 in α-MSH- and IBMX-stimulated B16F10 cells. In addition, ar-turmerone exhibits stronger anti-melanogenic effects than curcumin. Furthermore, ar-turmerone strongly inhibited α-MSH- and IBMX-induced microphthalmia-associated transcription factor by suppressing the activity of cyclic adenosine monophosphate (cAMP)-responsive element binding protein in α-MSH-stimulated B16F10 cells. Our data revealed that ar-turmerone is a novel, effective, anti-melanogenic agent that functions by downregulating tyrosinase, Trp-1, and Trp-2 gene expression. Therefore, ar-turmerone may be a useful therapeutic agent for treating hyperpigmentation disorders, such as freckles and melasma, and as a beneficial additive in whitening cosmetics.