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      The Extracts of Astragalus membranaceus Inhibit Melanogenesis through the ERK Signaling Pathway

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          Abstract

          Melanin is a normal production protecting skin from environment-causing damage. Plants produce some agents in response to their environment. These agents could be applied in cosmetic production. Some Chinese herbals have immunomodulatory activities and modulate the symptoms of several diseases. Melanogenesis represents a complex group of conditions that are thought to be mediated through a complex network of regulatory processes. Previously, some studies found that the extracts of Astragalus membranaceus (PG2) regulated immunity and supported hematopoiesis. Herein, we want to determine the molecular mechanisms by which PG2 inhibits melanogenesis in B16F10 melanoma cells. The cellular melanin contents and expression of melanogenesis-related protein, including microphthalmia associated transcription factor (MITF) and tyrosinase were significantly reduced after PG2 treatment. Moreover, PG2 increased phosphorylation of ERK, without affecting phosphorylation of p38. These results suggested that PG2 as a new target in reducing hyperpigmentation through the ERK signal pathway. PG2 has potential for cosmetic usage in the future.

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          Astragalus membranaceus: A Review of its Protection Against Inflammation and Gastrointestinal Cancers.

          Kathy K Auyeung, Simon Han, Joshua Ko (2016)
          Astragalus membranaceus is a major medicinal herb commonly used in many herbal formulations in the practice of traditional Chinese medicine (TCM) to treat a wide variety of diseases and body disorders. Among its diversified clinical applications, the potential use of this herb and its chemical constituents in treatments of inflammatory diseases and cancers has been actively investigated in recent years. Astragalus-based treatments have demonstrated significant amelioration of the toxicity induced by other concurrently administered orthodox drugs (e.g., immunosuppressants and cancer chemotherapeutics). The major components of Astragalus membranaceus are polysaccharides, flavonoids, and saponins. Contemporary use of Astragalus membranaceus mainly focuses on its immunomodulating, anti-oxidant, and anti-inflammatory, as well as anticancer effects. In this paper, we summarize the properties of Astragalus membranaceus and its major constituents in the biological system based on experimental and clinical studies. The antitumorigenic mechanisms of a novel Astragalus saponins extract called AST in treating various gastrointestinal cancers are highlighted. We discuss in detail how the Astragalus herb and AST influence the immune system, modulate various cancer signaling pathways, and interact with specific transcription molecules during protection against gastrointestinal inflammation and cancers. This information could help clinicians and scientists develop novel target-specific and effective therapeutic agents that are deprived of major systemic side effects, so as to establish a better treatment regimen in the battle against inflammatory diseases and cancers of the gut.
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            Usefulness of alkaline hydrogen peroxide oxidation to analyze eumelanin and pheomelanin in various tissue samples: application to chemical analysis of human hair melanins.

            Shosuke Ito, Yukiko Nakanishi, Robert Valenzuela … (2011)
            Eumelanin and pheomelanin in tissue samples can be specifically measured as the markers pyrrole-2,3,5-tricarboxylic acid (PTCA) and 4-amino-3-hydroxyphenylalanine after acidic permanganate oxidation and hydroiodic acid hydrolysis, respectively. Those degradation methods, although widely applied, are not easily performed in most laboratories. To overcome this difficulty, we developed alkaline H(2)O(2) oxidation in 1 M K(2)CO(3) that produces, in addition to the eumelanin marker PTCA, thiazole-2,4,5-tricarboxylic acid (TTCA) and thiazole-4,5-dicarboxylic acid (TDCA) as markers for pheomelanin and pyrrole-2,3-dicarboxylic acid (PDCA) as a marker for 5,6-dihydroxyindole-derived eumelanin. Those four degradation products can be easily separated by HPLC and analyzed with ultraviolet detection. The alkaline H(2)O(2) oxidation method is simple, reproducible and applicable to all pigmented tissues. Its application to characterize eumelanin and pheomelanin in human hair shows that PTCA and TTCA serve as specific markers for eumelanin and pheomelanin, respectively, although some caution is needed regarding the artificial production of TTCA from eumelanic tissue proteins. © 2011 John Wiley & Sons A/S.
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              Antimelanogenic effect of c-phycocyanin through modulation of tyrosinase expression by upregulation of ERK and downregulation of p38 MAPK signaling pathways

              Li-Chen Wu, Yu-Yun Lin, Szu-Yen Yang … (2011)
              Background Pigmentation is one of the essential defense mechanisms against oxidative stress or UV irradiation; however, abnormal hyperpigmentation in human skin may pose a serious aesthetic problem. C-phycocyanin (Cpc) is a phycobiliprotein from spirulina and functions as an antioxidant and a light harvesting protein. Though it is known that spirulina has been used to reduce hyperpigmentation, little literature addresses the antimelanogenic mechanism of Cpc. Herein, we investigated the rationale for the Cpc-induced inhibitory mechanism on melanin synthesis in B16F10 melanoma cells. Methods Cpc-induced inhibitory effects on melanin synthesis and tyrosinase expression were evaluated. The activity of MAPK pathways-associated molecules such as MAPK/ERK and p38 MAPK, were also examined to explore Cpc-induced antimelanogenic mechanisms. Additionally, the intracellular localization of Cpc was investigated by confocal microscopic analysis to observe the migration of Cpc. Results Cpc significantly (P < 0.05) reduced both tyrosinase activity and melanin production in a dose-dependent manner. This phycobiliprotein elevated the abundance of intracellular cAMP leading to the promotion of downstream ERK1/2 phosphorylation and the subsequent MITF (the transcription factor of tyrosinase) degradation. Further, Cpc also suppressed the activation of p38 causing the consequent disturbed activation of CREB (the transcription factor of MITF). As a result, Cpc negatively regulated tyrosinase gene expression resulting in the suppression of melanin synthesis. Moreover, the entry of Cpc into B16F10 cells was revealed by confocal immunofluorescence localization and immunoblot analysis. Conclusions Cpc exerted dual antimelanogenic mechanisms by upregulation of MAPK/ERK-dependent degradation of MITF and downregulation of p38 MAPK-regulated CREB activation to modulate melanin formation. Cpc may have potential applications in biomedicine, food, and cosmetic industries.
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                Author and article information

                Journal
                Journal ID (nlm-ta): Int J Med Sci
                Journal ID (iso-abbrev): Int J Med Sci
                Journal ID (publisher-id): ijms
                Title: International Journal of Medical Sciences
                Publisher: Ivyspring International Publisher (Sydney )
                ISSN (Electronic): 1449-1907
                Publication date Collection: 2017
                Publication date (Electronic): 3 September 2017
                Volume: 14
                Issue: 11
                Pages: 1049-1053
                Affiliations
                [1 ]Division of Nephrology, Department of Medicine, Taoyuan General Hospital, Taoyuan 330, Taiwan;
                [2 ]Institute of Clinical Medicine, National Yang-Ming University, Taipei 11221, Taiwan;
                [3 ]Graduate Institute of Basic Medical Science, School of Medicine, China Medical University, Taichung 404, Taiwan;
                [4 ]Department of Biological Sciences, National Sun Yat-sen University, Kaohsiung 804, Taiwan;
                [5 ]Department of Anatomy, School of Medicine, College of Medicine, Kaohsiung Medical University, Kaohsiung, Taiwan;
                [6 ]Department of Public Health, China Medical University, Taichung 404, Taiwan;
                [7 ]Department of Medical Research, China Medical University Hospital, China Medical University, Taichung 40402, Taiwan.
                Author notes
                ✉ Corresponding author: Dr. Che-Hsin Lee, Department of Biological Sciences, National Sun Yat-sen University, Kaohsiung, Taiwan, 70 Lienhai Rd. Kaohsiung 80424, Taiwan. E-mail: chlee@ 123456mail.nsysu.edu.tw

                Competing Interests: The authors have declared that no competing interest exists.

                Article
                Publisher ID: ijmsv14p1049
                DOI: 10.7150/ijms.20335
                PMC ID: 5666534
                PubMed ID: 29104457
                SO-VID: 7468e642-c679-4f46-a470-08bf621a760c
                Copyright © © Ivyspring International Publisher
                License:

                This is an open access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution (CC BY-NC) license ( https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc/4.0/). See http://ivyspring.com/terms for full terms and conditions.

                History
                Date received : 30 March 2017
                Date accepted : 5 July 2017
                Categories
                Subject: Research Paper

                ScienceOpen disciplines: Medicine
                Keywords: melanin,astragalus membranaceus,pg2,melanogenesis.
                Data availability:
                ScienceOpen disciplines: Medicine
                Keywords: melanin, astragalus membranaceus, pg2, melanogenesis.

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