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Depigmenting Agents

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Pigmentary Skin Disorders

Part of the book series: Updates in Clinical Dermatology ((UCD))

Abstract

Several depigmenting agents are now available both for topical and systemic use with varying degrees of evidence on their efficacy and safety. These agents act by inhibiting melanogenesis, interrupting melanosome transfer, accelerating epidermal desquamation with melanin turnover, antioxidant effects and by other methods. The topical agents that act mainly by inhibiting melanogenesis through tyrosinase inhibition include hydroquinone and derivatives, arbutin, kojic acid, azelaic acid, methimazole, gentisic acid, flavonoids (aloesin, licorice) and antioxidants (ascorbic acid, alpha tocopherols and grapeseed extracts). Examples of agents that interrupt melanosome transfer are niacinamide, soybeans and lectins. Topical agents that accelerate epidermal desquamation and melanin turnover include retinoids, hydroxy acids, salicylic acids and linoleic acids. Other agents that act by varying mechanisms are tranexamic acid, steroids and other active ingredients found in various plant extracts. Topical therapies in combination are found to be more effective as add-on agents to optimise the effects of the other agents and mitigate the side effects of primary agents. They are often used as first-line therapy. The systemic agents used include tranexamic acid, glutathione, oral vitamin C and vitamin E. Some systemic agents such as glutathione are often misused without adequate evidence of its efficacy and long-term safety.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Pharmacology, Faculty of Medicine, University of Colombo, Colombo, Sri Lanka

    Priyadarshani Galappatthy

  2. Sinclair Dermatology, East Melbourne, Victoria, Australia

    Deepani Rathnayake

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  1. Priyadarshani Galappatthy
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Correspondence to Priyadarshani Galappatthy .

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  1. Department of Dermatology, Fiona Stanley Hospital and University of Western Australia, Perth, Western Autralia, Australia

    Prasad Kumarasinghe

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Galappatthy, P., Rathnayake, D. (2018). Depigmenting Agents. In: Kumarasinghe, P. (eds) Pigmentary Skin Disorders. Updates in Clinical Dermatology. Springer, Cham. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-319-70419-7_18

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