Spider Venom for Dark Spots?

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A new report published online in Bioorganic & Medicinal Chemistry, to be featured in the November 2016 edition, describes the work of researchers in France who studied the venom of scorpions, snakes, spiders and amphibians to identify new molecules with an inhibitory activity on melanogenesis. 

According to the article abstract, the venoms were screened for their capacity to inhibit mushroom tyrosinase using (l-DOPA) as substrate. Argiope lobata spider venom proved to be the most active. A HPLC fraction containing Argiotoxine-636 (ArgTX-636), a polyamine known for numerous biological activities, also was found to regulate melanogenesis in a dose-dependent manner, with a maximal half inhibitory concentration (IC50) value of 8.34 μM, when l-DOPA was used as substrate.

Thus, the researchers concluded ArgTX-636 could have particular interest for cosmetic and/or pharmaceutical use in order to reduce important dermatoses in black and mixed skins.

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