臨床常見美白中草藥之文獻探析

美白向為東方女性醫學美容之主流，而黑色素過量為膚色黯沉的首要原因。欲減少皮膚黑色素的含量，可藉由抑制黑色素生成，以及促進含黑色素的角質形成層細胞脫落來達成。目前常見的美白產品，除了使用防曬劑來阻隔紫外線曝露外，其他大多數均以抑制黑色素形成之酪胺酸酶抑制劑為主。本文探討市售美白產品中常見的成分及其原理，並回顧文獻探討臨床常見中草藥之美白成分與機轉，發現如人參、甘草、桑葉、蘆薈、當歸、川芎等藥物，均具有抑制酪胺酸酶活性而減少黑色素生成的作用，有些尚有抗氧化、抗發炎、促進皮膚血液循環、加速皮膚表層細胞更新等美白功效。

關鍵字

美白；中藥；草藥；酪胺酸酶；黑色素

並列摘要

Whitening has always been the trend of female beauty. Melanin formation is the most important cause of darker skin color. We can suppress the amount of melanin in the skin by preventing the melanin production, or by accelerating the keratinocyte layer containing melanin cells fall off. Except UV-blocking agents, whitening products currently used generally contain tyrosinase inhibitors related to melanin formation. In this paper, we list the ingredients often applied to whitening, and describe the mechanisms of tyrosinase inhibition. Also, we review several research papers of Chinese herbal medicines used in whitening, such as ginseng, licorice, mulberry leaf, aloe, angelica, and chuanxiong. All of them can reduce melanin production by tyrosinase inhibition and individually may have the effects of antioxidant, anti-inflammatory, improvement of blood circulation, or to accelerate the renewal of skin surface cell for whitening.