Search

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.

The control of intestinal α-amylase and α-glucosidase is an effective therapeutic strategy for prevention of post-prandial hyperglycemia associated with diabetes mellitus. The objective of this study was to evaluate the anti-diabetes activities of Korean edible seaweed against α-amylase and α-glucosidase, two carbolytic enzymes involved in serum glucose regulation. Of the 41 species initially screened, Cladophora wrightiana var. minor, Eisenia bicyclis, Ecklonia cava, Ishige foliacea, and Ishige okamurae exhibited the strongest inhibitory activities from brown seaweeds. Asparagopsis taxiformis showed the strongest inhibitory effects from red seaweeds. The results of this study suggest that the crude brown seaweed extracts (C. wrightiana var. minor, E. bicyclis, E. cava, I. foliacea, and I. okamurae) and crude red seaweed extracts (A. taxiformis) may have beneficial effects suppressing the rise in postprandial hyperglycemia through the inhibition of α-amylase and α-glucosidase.