The green marine algae, Capsosiphon fulvescens is one of the important economic seaweeds cultured in Korea. In this study, we investigated the effects of Capsosiphon fulvescens on melanogenesis using B16 cells. Our results showed that Capsosiphon fulvescens significantly inhibits melanin synthesis and it reduces the activity of tyrosinase, the rate-limiting melanogenic enzyme. Western Blot analysis using anti-tyrosinase antibody revealed that Capsosiphon fulvescens ($10~40;{mu}g/ml$ decreased tyrosinase protein levels. Cell proliferation was dose-dependently inhibited by 10, 20 and 40 ${mu}g/ml$ Capsosiphon fulvescens, without cytotoxicity and morphological change. These results suggest that the depigmenting effect of Capsosiphon fulvescens is correlated with the suppression of tyrosinase activity and protein level, which are key enzymes for melanogenesis.
