Whitening Effect of Octaphlorethol A Isolated from Ishige foliacea in an In Vivo Zebrafish Model.

In a previous study, we isolated octaphlorethol A (OPA) from Ishige foliacea and evaluated its anti-melanogenesis activity in a murine melanoma cell line. However, the whitening effect and toxicity of OPA have not yet been examined in vivo. Therefore, in this study, we investigated the inhibitory effect of OPA on melanin synthesis and tyrosinase activity in an in vivo zebrafish model. More than 90% of subject embryos survived upon exposure to OPA concentrations below 25 mu M, which was not significantly different from the finding in the control group. OPA markedly inhibited melanin synthesis and tyrosinase activity in a concentration-dependent manner.