Background : The white jelly mushroom (Tremella fuciformis), one of the most popular edible fungi, has medicinal properties. However, the effects of T. fuciformis in skin whitening or anti-wrinkle efficacy has not been defined to date. The aim of the present study was to investigate the effects of T. fuciformis extracts on whitening and anti-wrinkle efficacy in skin cells. Methods and Results :We prepared T. fuciformis extracts with water. The extracts (80℃) contained 12.11 ㎎/g polyphenol and 8.54 ㎎/g flavonoid concentration. T. fuciformis extracts markedly decreased melanin contents and tyrosinase activity in α-MSHstimulated melanocytes (B16F10 cells). In addition, the mRNA expression of melanin formation factors, such as microphthalmiaassociated transcription factor (MITF), tyrosinase-related protein-1 (TRP-1) and tyrosinase-related protein-2 (TRP-2) were significantly down-regulated in α-MSH-stimulated melanocyte. Furthermore, T. fuciformis extracts increased the synthesis of type I procollagen and reduced mRNA expression of matrix metalloproteinase 1 (MMP-1) in the human dermal fibroblast (HDFn cells). These data indicated that T. fuciformis extracts induce repression of cellular melanogenesis and protect against wrinkles caused by UVB-stimulated damage. Conclusions : Thus T. fuciformis extracts could be a cosmetic candidate for skin whitening and anti-wrinkle effects.

In the present study, we investigated the anti-inflammatory effects by Alopecurus aequalis Sobol on thelipopolysaccharide (LPS)-induced nitric oxide (NO) production by RAW 264.7 cell line. Consistent with these observations,DS reduced the LPS-induced expression of inducible nitric oxide synthase (iNOS) and cyclooxygenase-2 (COX-2) atthe protein levels in a concentration-dependent manner. In addition, the release of tumor necrosis factor-α (TNF-α) andinterleukin-6 (IL-6) were also reduced by DS. Moreover, LPS increased expression phosphorylation of IκBα, but DS showedinhibitory effect by reducing LPS-inducible p-IκBα expression level. These results suggest that the down regulation of iNOS,COX-2, TNF-α, and IL-6 expression by DS are achieved by the downregulation of NF-κB activity, a transcription factornecessary for pro-inflammatory mediators, and that is also responsible for its anti-inflammatory effects.