Effects Of CHUANGLINGYE On The Melanogenesis Of Melanocytes

Objective:To study the influence of Chuanglingye on the proliferation, tyrosinase activity and melanin synthesis of rat immortalized melanocytes(B10BR) and to lay the theoretical foundation that if Chuanglingye could be a choice for vitiligo and other hypomelanotic skin disorders.Methods:The rat immortalized melanocytes(B10BR) was used as the research object. The cultured cells were treated with different concentrations of Chuanglingye for 72 hours and an additional control groups was also established. Then the cell proliferation, tyrosinase activity and melanin content were detected by methyl thiazolyltetrazolium colorimetric assay (MTT assay), the dopa oxidation assay and NaOH-assay respectively. The data were expressed as mean ± standard deviation (SD) and one-way analysis of variance was performed.Results:According to the one-way analysis of variance, low concentration of Chuanglingye (50μg/ml) did not modify the effect of melanocytes proliferation, tyrosinase activity and melanogenesis. Chuanglingye promoted the proliferation of melanocytes at the concentration of 100,200,400,800,1600μg/ml, and it promoted cell proliferation in a dose dependent manner at the concentration of 100 to 400μg/ml. When the concentration of Chuanglingye was 100,200, 400,800,1600,3200μg/ml, tyrosinase activity were increased and if the concentration was higer than 400 ug/ml, Chuanglingye significantly activated tyrosinase activity, compared with the blank control group, P<0.001. Chuanglingye stimulated melanogenesis at 100,200,400,800, 1600,3200μg/ml concentration. It was noteworthy that Chuanglingye had no effect on the cell proliferation at the concentration of 3200μg/ml while it had a positive effect on the melanin synthesis. Moreover, the tyrosinase activity of this group was significantly enhanced as P<0.001 compared with the control group.Conclusions:Chuanglingye can promote the proliferation of melanocytes and melanogenesis, and it can stimulate the activity of tyrosinase significantly in a certain concentration. Additionally, we postulate that Chuanglingye’s role in inducing melanogenesis could be associated with tyrosinase activity. Further investigation is warranted to discover the effects of Chuanglingye on other biological characteristics of melanocytes for it will probably be used to treat vitiligo and other hypopigmented skin diseases in the future.