Fig 2: Effect of the polyphenols- and flavonoids-enriched rice seed extract on mRNA expression levels of melanogenesis mediators in melan-a cells. The expression levels of (a) MITF, (b) tyrosinase, (c), TRP-1, and (d) TRP-2. HP, SB, and arbutin concentrations were 100 µg/mL. DMSO concentration was 0.1%. Data are shown as mean ± standard deviation. A one-way ANOVA followed by post hoc Duncan’s multiple range tests was used to determine the difference between treatments. Lowercase letters (a, b, c, and d) indicate significant differences at p < 0.05 among the RPMI, DMSO, HP, SB, and arbutin (where a > b > c > d).

Fig 3: PFE inhibited the expression of MITF. (A) The proteins' expression of MITF. (B) The grayscale value of the expression of MITF when compared to the forskolin‐stimulated group. Results were presented as the mean ± SD (n = 3; **p < 0.01, ***p < 0.001).