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Skin depigmenting action of silkworm (Bombyx mori L.) droppings in zebrafish

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Abstract

The excrement of silkworms (Bombyx mori L.), referred to here as silkworm droppings (SDs), is used as a traditional drug in eastern medicine to treat skin diseases such as urticaria and atopy. However, the depigmentation effects of SDs have not previously been evaluated. We focused on the depigmentation effect of a methanol extract of SDs and isolated components of the extract using a zebrafish model system. (+)-Dehydrovomifoliol (M-1), (6R,7E,9R)-9-hydroxy-4,7-megastigmadien-3-one (M-2), (3S,5R,8R)-3,5-dihydroxymegastigma-6,7-dien-9-one (M-3), roseoside (M-4), and citroside A (M-5) were isolated from only SDs extract (SDE), and chemical structures were identified through spectroscopic methods. Toxicity of SDE was evaluated by assessing its effect on the viability of human fibroblast cells and the hatching rate of zebrafish embryos. In addition, the depigmentation ability of SDE and isolated constituents was evaluated using a zebrafish model. Binary threshold, histograms, and the size of the black spots on the dorsal region of zebrafish larvae were analyzed using image analysis tools. Finally, SDE is a non-toxic material and has a dose-dependent depigmentation effect in zebrafish larvae. Moreover, various doses of compounds isolated from SDE, namely, M-1 to M-5, had a depigmentation effect. In particular, M-5 inhibited melanin synthesis in melanocytes stimulated by α-melanocyte stimulating hormone (α-MSH). Together, our results suggest that SDs can be used for depigmentation purposes in health and/or cosmetic applications.

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Fig. 1
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Abbreviations

SDs:

Silkworm droppings

SDE:

Silkworm droppings extract

TLC:

Thin-layer chromatography

M-1:

(+)-Dehydrovomifoliol

M-2:

(6R,7E,9R)-9-Hydroxy-4,7-megastigmadien-3-one

M-3:

(3S,5R,8R)-3,5-Dihydroxymegastigma-6,7-dien-9-one

M-4:

Roseoside

M-5:

Citroside A

α-MSH:

α-Melanocyte stimulating hormone

PTU:

1-Phenyl-2-thiourea

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Acknowledgements

This work (Grant No. C0268459) was supported by Business for Academic-industrial Cooperative establishments funded Korea Small and Medium Business Administration in 2015 and Basic Science Research program through the National Research Foundation of Korea (NRF) funded by the ministry of Education, Science and Technology (NRF-2016K1A1A8A01938680).

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Graduate School of Biotechnology, Kyung Hee University, Global Campus, Yongin, Gyeonggi, 446-701, Republic of Korea

    Yeong Ro Lee, Ji-Hae Park, Rodrigo Castaneda Molina, Youn Hee Nam, Yeong-Geun Lee, Bin Na Hong, Nam-In Baek & Tong Ho Kang

  2. Department of Oriental Medicinal Materials and Processing, College of Life Sciences, Kyung Hee University, Global Campus, Yongin, Gyeonggi, 446-701, Republic of Korea

    Nam-In Baek & Tong Ho Kang

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  1. Yeong Ro Lee
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  2. Ji-Hae Park
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  8. Tong Ho Kang
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Correspondence to Tong Ho Kang.

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The authors state no conflict of interest.

Ethical standard

Zebrafish were cared for in accordance with the standard zebrafish protocols approved by the Animal Care and Use Committee of Kyung Hee University.

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Lee, Y.R., Park, JH., Castaneda Molina, R. et al. Skin depigmenting action of silkworm (Bombyx mori L.) droppings in zebrafish. Arch Dermatol Res 310, 245–253 (2018). https://doi.org/10.1007/s00403-018-1804-1

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s00403-018-1804-1

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