Depigmenting effect of banana stem and flower on melanocytes

Gingival repigmentation is an inevitable hindrance among different procedures accepted for gingival depigmentation. To overcome this, there is a need for the procedure that can delay the duration of reappearance of pigmentation. A number of studies using herbal extracts with antioxidant property shown to have anti melanogenic effect. In the present in - vitro study, we investigated the effect of banana stem and flower extracts on melanocytes, as Banana stem and flower are rich in polyphenols and flavonoids, which are potent antioxidants. The melanocytes were exposed to ethanolic extract of banana stem and flower at 2 concentrations (100 μgm, 150 μgm) for 72 h. The cellular melanin contents were measured using Bradford assay which depicted the reduction in the melanin content and Resazurin assay was used for assessment of cell viability showed no significant cytotoxic effect of banana stem and flower on the cells. The cells exposed to higher concentration (150 μgm) of banana stem and flower showed significant reduction in melanin content. Flower extract showed better reduction in the melanin content. Based on these results both banana flower and stem can be tried as potent gingival depigmenting agent.