{"status":"ok","message-type":"work","message-version":"1.0.0","message":{"indexed":{"date-parts":[[2026,9,5]],"date-time":"2026-09-05T04:15:15Z","timestamp":1788581715521,"version":"build-2803163510"},"reference-count":45,"publisher":"MDPI AG","issue":"21","license":[{"start":{"date-parts":[[2020,11,7]],"date-time":"2020-11-07T00:00:00Z","timestamp":1604707200000},"content-version":"vor","delay-in-days":0,"URL":"https:\/\/creativecommons.org\/licenses\/by\/4.0\/"}],"funder":[{"name":"Business for Startup growth and technological development (TIPS Program) funded Korea Ministry of SMEs and Startups in 2020","award":["S2807319"],"award-info":[{"award-number":["S2807319"]}]},{"name":"National Research Foundation of Korea (NRF) grant funded by the Korean government (MSIT)","award":["2019R1A2C2003340"],"award-info":[{"award-number":["2019R1A2C2003340"]}]}],"content-domain":{"domain":[],"crossmark-restriction":false},"short-container-title":["Molecules"],"abstract":"<jats:p>Melanin, which determines the color of the skin and hair, is initially synthesized to protect the skin from ultraviolet light; however, excessive melanin pigmentation caused by abnormal cell proliferation can result in various melanocytic lesions. Cyclic adenosine monophosphate (cAMP) is known to regulate cell cycle progression and consequently to inhibit the division of abnormally proliferating cells. In this work, we aimed to test whether carvone, a scent compound from plants, inhibits proliferation and subsequently reduces melanin content of melanoma cells and to determine whether its beneficial effects are mediated by the cAMP pathway. We found that carvone decreases melanin content and inhibits melanoma cell proliferation in a concentration-dependent manner. Meanwhile, it inhibited the activation of cell cycle-associated proteins such as cyclin-dependent kinase 1 (CDK1). Of note, the beneficial effects of carvone were abrogated by cAMP inhibition. Our findings indicate potential benefits of carvone for the treatment of melanomas and presumably other hyperpigmentation-related dermatological disorders such as melasmas, lentigines, and excessive freckles.<\/jats:p>","DOI":"10.3390\/molecules25215191","type":"journal-article","created":{"date-parts":[[2020,11,8]],"date-time":"2020-11-08T20:23:35Z","timestamp":1604867015000},"page":"5191","update-policy":"https:\/\/doi.org\/10.3390\/mdpi_crossmark_policy","source":"Crossref","is-referenced-by-count":26,"title":["Carvone Decreases Melanin Content by Inhibiting Melanoma Cell Proliferation via the Cyclic Adenosine Monophosphate (cAMP) Pathway"],"prefix":"10.3390","volume":"25","author":[{"given":"Wesuk","family":"Kang","sequence":"first","affiliation":[{"name":"Department of Food and Nutrition, BK21 FOUR, College of Human Ecology, Yonsei University, 50 Yonsei-ro, Seodaemun-gu, Seoul 03722, Korea"}],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]},{"given":"Dabin","family":"Choi","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"Department of Food and Nutrition, BK21 FOUR, College of Human Ecology, Yonsei University, 50 Yonsei-ro, Seodaemun-gu, Seoul 03722, Korea"}],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]},{"given":"Soyoon","family":"Park","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"Department of Food and Nutrition, BK21 FOUR, College of Human Ecology, Yonsei University, 50 Yonsei-ro, Seodaemun-gu, Seoul 03722, Korea"}],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]},{"ORCID":"https:\/\/orcid.org\/0000-0002-9752-9407","authenticated-orcid":false,"given":"Taesun","family":"Park","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"Department of Food and Nutrition, BK21 FOUR, College of Human Ecology, Yonsei University, 50 Yonsei-ro, Seodaemun-gu, Seoul 03722, Korea"}],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]}],"member":"1968","published-online":{"date-parts":[[2020,11,7]]},"reference":[{"key":"ref_1","unstructured":"Bagherani, N., Gianfaldoni, S., and Smoller, B. 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