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Ingredient intelligence

Kojic acid

Pigmentation · Kojic Acid · C6H6O4

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Kojic acid is a fungal that chelates the copper ions in the active site, an unusually well-characterised depigmenting .

Single human studyOne curated human study — the finding has not been independently repeated in this dataset.

Any underlined term can be tapped for an everyday-English translation.

Molecular identity

Two-dimensional chemical structure of Kojic acid
Formula
C6H6O4
Molecular weight
142.11 g/mol
PubChem CID
3840
ChEBI
CHEBI:43569
Open PubChem record →

Biological targets

  • Tyrosinase (TYR)

    high confidence

    inhibits · enzyme

    Copper at the catalytic site.

    UniProt P14679

  • Tyrosinase-related protein 1 (TYRP1)

    low confidence

    inhibits · enzyme

    UniProt P17643

Molecules & genes

Molecules

  • Kojic acidC6H6O4 · 142.11 g/mol

Genes / proteins

How could this ingredient interact with biology?

Biological network

Ingredient → molecule → target → gene/protein → pathway → process → studied outcome. Relationship strength is drawn from the curated confidence tier; nothing is added to make the chain look complete.

100%
Kojic acidKojic acidTyrosinase (TYR)TYRMelanin biosynthesisMelanogenesisStudied for hyperpigmenta…

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IngredientMoleculeTargetGenePathwayProcessOutcome

2 lower-confidence relationships are hidden at this filter level. Use “Show more biology” to include them.

Text alternative for this network
  • Kojic acid is molecule Kojic acid — high confidence
  • Kojic acid inhibits Tyrosinase (TYR) — high confidence
  • Tyrosinase (TYR) encoded by TYR — high confidence
  • TYR participates in Melanin biosynthesis — high confidence
  • Melanin biosynthesis associated with Melanogenesis — high confidence
  • Melanogenesis studied in Studied for hyperpigmentation endpoints; sensitisation reported — medium confidence

Biological pathways

Melanin biosynthesis

high confidence

Direct of the rate-limiting melanogenic .

Gene Ontology GO:0042438

Evidence engine

Limited

Mostly mechanistic, animal or single-study evidence.

Skinceptor Evidence Index

44

experimental · of 100

This index is a research-navigation aid describing how much evidence exists and how it was produced. It is not a medical safety score, an efficacy guarantee, or a clinical recommendation.

Study composition

  • Randomised controlled trial1
  • In-vitro1
Total studies
2
Human studies
1
Largest sample
60
Range
1994–2013

Index breakdown

  • Study design quality57% × 28%

    Mean design weight across curated studies (meta-analysis 1.0, RCT 0.9, other human 0.7, review 0.45, animal 0.35, in-vitro 0.25).

  • Human evidence share33% × 22%

    Proportion of curated evidence measured in people rather than cells or animals.

  • Evidence volume50% × 14%

    Log-scaled count of curated studies, so volume alone cannot dominate the score.

  • Largest sample size59% × 12%

    Log-scaled largest reported sample size across curated human studies.

  • Replication33% × 12%

    Independent human studies, capped at three; one study is never treated as replicated.

  • Recency35% × 7%

    Linear decay over a twenty-year window from the most recent curated publication.

  • Source traceability0% × 5%

    Share of curated studies with a verified PMID or DOI in this dataset.

How is this determined? →

Insufficient comparable evidence for quantitative synthesis.

Research timeline

How the evidence accumulated

  1. 1994

    Kojic acid as a tyrosinase inhibitor: copper chelation at the catalytic site

    In-vitrosample size unavailable · Bioscience, Biotechnology, and Biochemistry

  2. 2013

    Kojic acid combinations for facial melasma: a randomised comparison

    Randomised controlled trialn = 60 · Journal of Cosmetic Dermatology

Ingredient fingerprint

9 nodes · 9 relationships · seed "kojic-acid"

The fingerprint is a deterministic visual signature: ridge amplitude comes from the number of entities in each tier, node placement from identifier hashes, and opacity from confidence. Two ingredients can never produce the same figure unless their networks are identical.

Open in Biology as Art →

Research

2 curated studies

Randomised controlled trialJournal of Cosmetic Dermatology · 2013n = 60

Kojic acid combinations for facial melasma: a randomised comparison

Reported reduced melasma severity scores with a kojic-acid-containing combination versus its comparator over 12 weeks.

Limitations — Combination product prevents attribution to kojic acid alone; identifier not verified during curation.

Identifier not curated — search Europe PMCKojic acid · Hydroquinone
In-vitroBioscience, Biotechnology, and Biochemistry · 1994

Kojic acid as a tyrosinase inhibitor: copper chelation at the catalytic site

Characterises kojic acid inhibition of tyrosinase through chelation of active-site copper ions.

Limitations — Enzyme assay only; no cutaneous endpoints; identifier not verified.

Identifier not curated — search Europe PMCKojic acid

Community evidence

Submitted by readers

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Sources

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