The Effect of Water Extract from Semen Sesami Nigrum on Melanogenesis of B16 Melanoma Cells

Objective To study the effect of water extract from Semen Sesami Nigrum(WES) on cell viability,tyrosinase activity and melanogenesis of B16 murine melanoma cells and to clarify the mechanism of its stimulating effect on melanogenesis.MethodsThree different concentrations of WES were incubated with B16 cells for 72h and then cell viability,melanin content,tyrosinase activity were respectively measured.The protein and mRNA expression of melanogenesis key enzymes were investigated by western blot and RT-PCR after 48 h treatment of WES.Results Three different concentrations of WES slightly increased cell viability(P 0.05).In the range of experimental dose,WES increased the activity of the tyrosinase and melanin content significantly in a dose-dependent manner(P 0.05).The increasing mRNA and protein expression of TYR and MITF were also observed in a dose-dependent manner(P 0.05).Almost no effect was observed on the expression of TRP1 and TRP2(P 0.05).Conclusion WES can directly stimulate melanogenesis in B16 melanoma cells,which may be induced by increasing expression of TYR and MITF on mRNA and protein levels.