Asian J Beauty Cosmetol. 2004; 2: 0.
Relation of Chitosan oligosaccharide-induced Melanin Production to
The Activity and Expression of Tyrosinase in B16 Melanoma Cells
ABSTRACT
To investigate the effect of chitosn oligosaccharide on cosmetic and skin care, we measured tyrosinase
activity and melanin production in B16 melanoma cells, and elastase and hyaluronidase
activity. Chitosan oligosaccharide itself did not have any anti-oxidant activity in DPPH radical
scavenging, and did not affect the proliferation of B16 melanoma cells. Chitosan oligosaccharide
dose-depednetly increased melanin production in the absence or presence of MSH. However, chitosan
oligosaccharide did not have any influence on the tyrosinase activity and tyrosinase expression
in B16 melanoma cells. These results suggest that chitosan oligosaccharide-induced melanin production
may be independent on tyrosinase in B16 melanoma cells. On the other hand, chitosan oligosaccharide
increased neutrophil elastase activity but decreased hyaluronidase activity in a
dose-dependent manner. From the above results, chitosan oligosaccharide dose-dependently appears
to increase melanin production in B16 melanoma cells and inhibit hyaruronidase activity, suggesting
that chitosan oligosaccharide may be used as sun-tan agent and water conservative agent.
Keywords :
chitosan oligosaccharide, melanin, hyaluronidase, elastase