Pigmentation Effects of Kaliziri Standard Extracts on Melanocytes, C57BL/6 mice of Hydroquinone- Induced and Guinea Pigs of Hydrogen Peroxide-Induced Hyperpigmentation Model
Abstract Background: Vitiligo is a depigmentation disorder characterized by losing functional melanocytes, leading to skin and/or hair depigmentation. Kaliziri (Vernonia anthelmintica (L.) Willd) seeds have been traditionally used to treat pigmentation disorders in Central Asia. The extracts of these seeds increased melanin content and tyrosinase activity and upregulated melanogenesis-related proteins in B16 melanoma cells. We isolated the main active compound Kaliziri standard Extracts (encoded as CAM-Y7) from the Kaliziri seeds in a previous study. Our goal was to reveal whether CAM-Y7 promotes melanogenesis in melanocytes and restored pigmentation in animal models of vitiligo. Methods: Herein, we analyzed the melanogenic effects of CAM-Y7 on melanocytes and the skin pigmentation of hydroquinone (H.Q.)-induced mouse model and hydrogen peroxide (H2O2)-induced guinea pig model of vitiligo. Results: CAM-Y7 promotes Melanogenesis up-Regulation MITF-induced Tyrosinase Expression via p38MAPK signal pathway in melanocytes. Oral administration of CAM-Y7 progressively darkened the dorsal skin and hair of the C57BL/6 mice and guinea pigs. Lillie staining and hematoxylin-eosin staining further showed that CAM-Y7 induced melanogenesis in the epidermis and hair follicles of the animals. Conclusion: Taken together, these results suggest that CAM-Y7 regulation of melanogenesis may be mediated by the activation of p38 MAPK and restored pigmentation in an HQ-Induced C57BL/6 mouse and H2O2-induced guinea pig models of vitiligo. CAM-Y7 might be valuable and promising therapeutic as an agent for vitiligo. Subsequent clinical experiments using are needed to verify our results.