본 연구에서는 차가버섯의 미백 활성 검증을 통하여 화장품 소재로써의 활용 가능성을 확인하였다. 차가버섯 추출물의 항산화 효과를 알아보기 위해 전자공여능을 측정한 결과 농도가 증가할수록 활성도도 증가하였으며 1,000 μg/ml 농도에서 82.1%의 우수한 전자공여능을 나타내었다. 또한 미백 효과를 검증하기 위해 tyrosinase 저해활성을 측정한 결과 농도 의존적으로 저해활성이 증가함을 확인하였다. MTT assay를 통해 멜라노마 세포(B16F10)의 세포 생존율을 확인한 결과 100 μg/ml 이하 농도에서 80% 이상의 생존율을 나타내었다. 따라서 세포 관련 실험은 25, 50, 100 μg/ml 농도에서 진행하였다. B16F10 cell에 차가버섯 추출물을 처리하여 멜라닌 합성과 관련된 단백질 발현을 측정한 결과 농도 의존성에 따라 모든 인자에서 단백질 발현이 억제됨을 확인할 수 있으며 100 μg/ml의 농도에서 TRP-1, MITF는 40.1%, 64.2%의 발현량을 나타내었고 tyrosinase 및 TRP-2는 arbutin 보다 단백질 발현 저해가 우수한 것을 확인할 수 있었다. 또한, 멜라닌 합성 관련 mRNA 발현 측정을 위해 B16F10 세포에 차가버섯 추출물을 처리한 결과, 농도가 증가할 수록 mRNA 발현이 억제되는 것을 검증하였다. 이에 따라 차가버섯 추출물이 미백 활성을 가지는 화장품 소재로써의 가능성을 확인할 수 있었다.
In this study, the various whitening activities of Inonotus obliquus were assessed for potential use as functional cosmetic materials. When measuring electron donating ability to confirm the antioxidant ability of I. obliquus extract, increased activity was observed as the concentration increased, and it was found an outstanding antioxidant capacity of 82.1% at a 1,000 μg/ml concentration. Also, the tyrosinase inhibitory effect, related to a whitening effect, was found to have inhibitory activity that increased in a concentration-dependent manner. The results of verifying the viability of melanoma cells (B16F10) using an MTT assay showed cell viability of more than 80% at concentrations below 100 μg/ml. Therefore, cell-related experiments were conducted at 25, 50, and 100 μg/ml concentrations. By measuring protein expression related to melanin synthesis via treating B16F10 cells with I. obliquus extract, it was confirmed that protein expression was inhibited in all factors, depending on the concentration. TRP-1 and MITF appeared by 40.1% and 64.2% amount of expression, respectively, at 100 μg/ml concentrations, and tyrosinase and TRP-2 were verified as having better protein expression inhibition than arbutin. In measuring mRNA expression related to melanin synthesis by treating B16F10 cells with I. obliquus extract, it was confirmed that mRNA expression was suppressed as the concentration increased. Accordingly, it was confirmed that I. obliquus extract has excellent whitening activity and could be used as a cosmetic material.