Kojic acid is a

chelation Chelation is a type of bonding of ions and molecules to metal ions. It involves the formation or presence of two or more separate coordinate bonds between a Denticity, polydentate (multiple bonded) ligand and a single central metal atom. These l ...

agent produced by several species of fungi, especially ''

Aspergillus oryzae ''Aspergillus oryzae'', also known as , is a filamentous fungus (a mold) used in East Asia to saccharify rice, sweet potato, and barley in the making of alcoholic beverages such as ''sake'' and '' shōchū'', and also to ferment soybeans for m ...

'', which has the Japanese common name ''koji''. Kojic acid is a by-product in the fermentation process of malting rice, for use in the manufacturing of sake, the Japanese rice wine. It is a mild inhibitor of the formation of pigment in plant and animal tissues, and is used in food and cosmetics to preserve or change colors of substances. It forms a bright red complex with

ferric In chemistry, iron(III) refers to the element iron in its +3 oxidation state. In ionic compounds (salts), such an atom may occur as a separate cation (positive ion) denoted by Fe3+. The adjective ferric or the prefix ferri- is often used to spe ...

ions.

Biosynthesis

¹³C-Labeling studies have revealed at least two pathways to kojic acid. In the usual route, dehydratase enzymes convert glucose to kojic acid. Pentoses are also viable precursors in which case

dihydroxyacetone Dihydroxyacetone (; DHA), also known as glycerone, is a simple saccharide (a triose) with formula . DHA is primarily used as an ingredient in sunless tanning products. It is often derived from plant sources such as sugar beets and sugar cane, an ...

is invoked as an intermediate.

Applications

Kojic acid may be used on cut fruits to prevent oxidative browning, in

seafood Seafood is any form of sea life regarded as food by humans, prominently including fish and shellfish. Shellfish include various species of molluscs (e.g. bivalve molluscs such as clams, oysters and mussels, and cephalopods such as octopus an ...

to preserve pink and red colors, and in cosmetics to lighten skin. As an example of the latter, it is used to treat skin diseases like

melasma Melasma (also known as chloasma faciei,James, William; Berger, Timothy; Elston, Dirk (2005). ''Andrews' Diseases of the Skin: Clinical Dermatology''. (10th ed.). Saunders. . or the mask of pregnancy when present in pregnant women) is a tan or dark ...

. Kojic acid also has antibacterial and antifungal properties. The

cocrystal Cocrystals are "solids that are crystalline single phase materials composed of two or more different molecular or ionic compounds generally in a stoichiometric ratio which are neither solvates nor simple salts." A broader definition is that cocryst ...

s of kojic acid with

quercetin Quercetin is a plant flavonol from the flavonoid group of polyphenols. It is found in many fruits, vegetables, leaves, seeds, and grains; capers, red onions, and kale are common foods containing appreciable amounts of it. It has a bitter flavor a ...

were found to have two times better

cytotoxic Cytotoxicity is the quality of being toxic to cells. Examples of toxic agents are an immune cell or some types of venom, e.g. from the puff adder (''Bitis arietans'') or brown recluse spider (''Loxosceles reclusa''). Cell physiology Treating cells ...

activity to human

cervical cancer Cervical cancer is a cancer arising from the cervix. It is due to the abnormal growth of cells that have the ability to invade or spread to other parts of the body. Early on, typically no symptoms are seen. Later symptoms may include abnormal ...

cells (

HeLa HeLa (; also Hela or hela) is an immortalized cell line used in scientific research. It is the oldest and most commonly used human cell line. The line is derived from cervical cancer cells taken on February 8, 1951, named after Henrietta La ...

) and human

colon cancer Colorectal cancer (CRC), also known as bowel cancer, colon cancer, or rectal cancer, is the development of cancer from the colon or rectum (parts of the large intestine). Signs and symptoms may include blood in the stool, a change in bowel mo ...

cells (

Caco-2 Caco-2 (from ''Cancer coli'', "colon cancer") is an immortalized cell line of human colorectal adenocarcinoma cells. It is primarily used as a model of the Intestinal epithelium, intestinal epithelial barrier. In culture, Caco-2 cells spontaneously ...

) in comparison with quercetin itself.

Other effects

Kojic acid has been shown to protect Chinese hamster ovary cells against ionizing radiation-induced damage. When exposed to a lethal dose of 3 Gy gamma radiation, dogs pretreated with kojic acid had a 51-day survival rate of 66.7% while the control group died within 16 days.

References

External links

Safety MSDS data
* {{Cite journal, last1=Mohajer, first1=Fatemeh, last2=Mohammadi Ziarani, first2=Ghodsi, date=2021, title=An Overview of Quantitative and Qualitative Approaches on the Synthesis of Heterocyclic Kojic Acid Scaffolds through the Multi-Component Reactions, url=https://www.heterocycles.jp/newlibrary/downloads/PDF/26925/102/2, journal=Heterocycles, volume=102, issue=2, page=211, doi=10.3987/REV-20-936, publisher=Japan Institute of Heterocyclic Chemistry, doi-access=free Food additives 4-Pyrones Primary alcohols Enols