Korean black ginseng extract protects against UV-induced skin damage through antioxidant activity and inhibition of elastase, tyrosinase, and hyaluronidase

Korean black ginseng (KBG), produced through nine repeated steaming-drying cycles, has been used for various health benefits, but its protective effects against ultraviolet (UV)-induced skin photoaging remain incompletely understood. This study investigated the anti-photoaging potential of KBG extract through evaluation of its antioxidant activity, protection against UV-induced damage, and inhibition of skin-aging related enzymes. KBG extract demonstrated dose-dependent protective effects against UV-A-induced oxidative stress in human dermal fibroblasts (HDF-n), significantly restoring superoxide dismutase (SOD)-like activity from 64.6% to 93.8% at 100 μg/mL. The extract effectively suppressed UV-induced matrix metalloproteinase-1 (MMP-1) expression, with optimal inhibition at 10 μg/mL. In B16F10 melanoma cells, KBG inhibited tyrosinase activity (40.0% at 100 μg/mL) and reduced melanin content (33.4% reduction at 100 μg/mL). Direct enzyme inhibition assays revealed that KBG extract inhibited tyrosinase (20.3% at 100 mg/mL), elastase (32.8% at 100 mg/mL), and hyaluronidase (20.3% at 100 mg/mL) activities in a dose-dependent manner. These results suggest that KBG extract possesses multi-target anti-photoaging properties through its antioxidant activity, suppression of MMP-1 expression, melanogenesis inhibition, and direct inhibition of skin-aging related enzymes, supporting its potential as a functional cosmetic ingredient.