For your skin
A "natural skin lightener" with actual clinical-trial backing for melasma. A placebo-controlled study showed real MASI improvement. Sits well alongside vitamin C, alpha-arbutin, or niacinamide in a brightening stack.
Want the science? Keep reading ↓Mechanism of action
Mulberroside-, oxyresveratrol-, and kuwanon-rich Moraceae extract that competitively inhibits tyrosinase and downregulates melanogenic gene expression in melanocytes; clinically reduced MASI scores in a placebo-controlled melasma trial.
Why we tier this moderate
2 cited papers across 1 country. The mechanism is well-described and there's at least one controlled trial in the literature, but we tier this Moderate rather than Strong to stay honest about how many specific papers we cite directly.
Cited research
Zhang L et al., Moraceae Plants with Tyrosinase Inhibitory Activity: A Review, Mini Reviews in Medicinal Chemistry 2017;17(13):1148-1157 — Morus alba and related Moraceae compounds demonstrate enzymatic tyrosinase inhibition and clinical whitening effects competitive with available depigmenting agents
Alvin G et al., A comparative study of the safety and efficacy of 75% mulberry (Morus alba) extract oil versus placebo as a topical treatment for melasma, Journal of Drugs in Dermatology 2011;10(9):1025-1031 — RCT: topical 75% mulberry extract significantly reduced MASI and Mexameter readings and improved QoL vs placebo with minimal adverse events
Sources: PubMed · KCI · J-Stage · CNKI · Wanfang · SFD · MFDS · Cochrane · SCCS · CIR. Every entry points to a specific document. See methodology for what each outcome label means.