Natural Product Based Treatment for Hyperpigmentation

Melanin is responsible to impart color to the skin as well as to provide protection from harmful UV radiation. But it’s excess production and distribution leads to hyperpigmentation and its related disorders. Several treatment strategies have been used to treat the problem of hyperpigmentation, including chemical peeling, dermabrasion, laser, topical treatment, etc. But skin burn, dyspigmentation, acne, swelling, pain etc. are some of the after effects found associated with these treatment options. To keep in view of the side effects of current treatment modalities and in order to get rid of the problem of hyperpigmentation, scientists were focussed on traditional system of treatment in which the skin treatment was done by natural products, which are without toxicological implications. Hence, various medicinal plants and their constituents having few or no risk of side effects have been tested for their efficacies to treat disorders of hyperpigmentation. In the present chapter, we have discussed some of those plants and their active ingredients which have been successfully used for the treatment of hyperpigmentation.

Keywords: Hyperpigmentation, Medicinal plants, Melanin, Natural products, Side effects.