Vinaginsenoside R4 was isolated from the leaves of hydroponically grown ginseng. It inhibits melanin biosynthesis and enhances pigmentation in zebrafish without any cytotoxic effects on melan-a cells. It may have potential as a new skin whitening compound.

The chemical structures were determined based on spectroscopic methods, including fast atom bombardment mass spectroscopy (FAB-MS), 1D-nuclear magnetic resonance (NMR), 2D-NMR, and, infrared (IR) spectroscopy. The melanogenic inhibitory activity of compounds 1, 2 and 3 was 23.9%, 27.8% and 35.2%, respectively, at a concentration of 80 μM. Likewise, the three compounds showed inhibitory activity on body pigmentation on a zebrafish model, which is commonly used as a model for biomedical or cosmetic research.