Effect of combination of taurine and azelaic acid on antimelanogenesis in murine melanoma cells

BACKGROUND: Pigmentation in human skin is an important defense mechanism against sunlight or oxidative stress. Despite the protective role of melanin, abnormal hyperpigmentation such as freckles and chloasma sometimes can be serious aesthetic problems. Because of these effects of hyperpigmentation, people have considered the effect of depigmentation. Azelaic acid (AZ) is a saturated dicarboxylic acid found naturally in wheat, rye, and barley. Previously, we showed that AZ inhibited melanogenesis. In this study, we investigated the antimelanogenic activity of combination of AZ and taurine (Tau) in B16F10 mouse melanoma cells. METHODS: The mouse melanoma cell line B16F10 was used in the study. We measured melanin contents and tyrosinase activity. To gain the change of protein expression, we carried out western blotting. RESULTS: We investigated that AZ combined with taurine (Tau) show more inhibitory effects in melanocytes than the treatment of AZ alone. AZ combined with Tau inhibited the melanin production and tyrosinase activity of B16F10 melanoma cells without significant cytotoxicity. Also inhibitory effects after treatment with these combined chemical are stronger than AZ alone on melanogenesis. CONCLUSIONS: These findings indicate that AZ with Tau might play an important role in the regulation of melanin formation and be useful as effective ingredients in antimelanogesis.