of Japanese rice wine (i.e. Sake) were developed for their skin lightening functions [24]. However, the mechanisms
of tyrosinase inhibition of gallic acid and kojic acid is still under investigation. Here, we discovered that
NANA could be a potential new skin lightening agent. Firstly, NANA is derived from natural source. Secondly,
the skin lightening efficiency of NANA is comparable to known skin lightening agents. Lastly, the inhibition
mechanism of NANA on tyrosinase activity is different from the inhibition mechanism of hydroquinone and arbutin
(competitive inhibition). In addition, the chemical structure of NANA is different to other skin lightening
agents, i.e. a phenolic ring was replaced by a glucose ring. Thus, NANA should have a high potential to be developed
into a new skin lightening agent