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Novel Discovery of a Tyrosinase Inhibitory Activity in a Commercially Available Garlic Oil Preparation

Undergraduate #6
Discipline: Biological Sciences
Subcategory: Biochemistry (not Cell and Molecular Biology and Genetics)

Justine Lewis - Howard University
Co-Author(s): Manjunath Manubolu, Chulalongkorn University, Bangkok, Thailand Kamla Deonauth, Howard University, Washington, DC



Tyrosinase is a copper containing enzyme that is ubiquitously found in living organisms ranging from bacteria to man. This enzyme is essential in melanin biogenesis, catalyzing the rate limiting reaction of converting tyrosine to dopaquinoine. Although the photo protective effects of melanin are both beneficial and necessary, the enzymatic browning of fruits, various medical pathologies and the continued prevalence of the belief in many cultures that ‘fair’ or ‘light’ skin is more beautiful, have led to a plethora of experiments aimed at discovering inhibitors of this key regulatory enzyme. To date, many Tyrosinase inhibitors have been identified or chemically synthesized, however, the efficacy of these anti-enzymatic agents remain poor and many lines of research point to both cytotoxic and carcinogenic effects of these inhibitors. Pressure from the agricultural, cosmetic and medicinal sectors to identify less toxic agents to suppress melaninogenisis has led to a renewed focus on natural plant products to inhibit Tyrosinase. Using a post TLC developing technique that provides a quick screening method for Tyrosinase inhibitors from natural products, we were able to inhibit Tyrosinase by using a commercially available garlic oil from Bangkok, Thailand. Quantitative analysis indicates that this inhibitor has an IC50 of 23.34ug/ml, which is lower than that of kojic acid (IC50 30.0ug/ ml), the standard positive control currently used in screening methods for inhibitors of Tyrosinase. To our knowledge, this is the first time that an anti-tyrosinase activity has been studied in garlic oil. Future experiments will include 1) testing of additional commercially available preparation of garlic oil for anti-tyrosinase activity 2) identifying and characterizing the active inhibitory component in garlic oil 3) conducting in vivo experiment using human melanocytes to determine the ability of the identified compound to inhibit melaninogenesis 4) using cell viability studies to determine toxicity of the anti-tyrosinase activity component and 5) active ingredient formulation studies.

Funder Acknowledgement(s): This material is based upon work supported by the National Science Foundation under Grant No. HRD-1238466. Any opinions, findings, and conclusions or recommendations expressed in this material are those of the author(s) and do not necessarily reflect the views of the National Science Foundation.

Faculty Advisor: Tiffany Lathan-Smith,

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This material is based upon work supported by the National Science Foundation (NSF) under Grant No. DUE-1930047. Any opinions, findings, interpretations, conclusions or recommendations expressed in this material are those of its authors and do not represent the views of the AAAS Board of Directors, the Council of AAAS, AAAS’ membership or the National Science Foundation.

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