Tyrosinase inhibition effects of Korean edible brown, green, and red seaweed extracts

Abstract

The tyrosinase inhibition effects of 23 marine-derived seaweeds harvested in Korea were screened to determine their potential as skin-whitening agents. Of the 23 species initially screened, the total phenolic (TP) content of brown, green, and red seaweeds were 7.62–280.11, 5.24–62.37, and 0.63–28.76 phloroglucinol equivalents (PGE) mg/g, respectively. Brown seaweed extracts exhibited much stronger inhibitory activities than green and red seaweed extracts. Among the brown seaweeds, Ecklonia cava had the highest TP content (280.11 PGE mg/g) and the strongest tyrosinase inhibitory effect with a half maximal inhibitory concentration (IC50) value of 4.38 μg/mL. The kinetics of tyrosinase inhibition, analyzed by Lineweaver–Burk plots, found E. cava extract to be a non-competitive inhibitor. This study’s results indicated that E. cava’s inhibition of tyrosinase may have potential applications in the cosmetic industry.

Keywords

• Brown seaweeds
• Green seaweeds
• Red seaweeds
• Tyrosinase
• Skin-whitening