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This article reviews the use of Kojic Acid (KA) as a skin-lightening ingredient in the cosmetics industry. In 1907, Saito discovered KA, a natural product; it has since become one of the most investigated skin-lightening agents. This paper highlights the findings of the research conducted on this agent. It has been found that KA has certain disadvantages, and researchers have attempted to mitigate these disadvantages by designing new equivalents of KA that are more efficient in tyrosinase inhibition. These equivalents are also safe to use and have improved properties and solubility. The Cosmeceutical Ingredient Review (CIR) indicates that this ingredient can be safely used at a concentration not higher than 1% due to its cytotoxicity. Other scientific data also support its safety at a concentration of 2% or less. It was shown to be helpful in the treatment of hyper pigmentary disorders, such as freckles, age spots, post-inflammatory hyperpigmentation, and melasma, which has been proven clinically.

Introduction. Bananas are traditionally propagated by suckers: nevertheless, the advantage of using tissue-cultured plants for banana production has been demonstrated in recent years. Despite the large-scale use of micropropagated plants in the subtropical regions, little information is available on the performance of these crops in tropical countries. So we compared the yield potential of some Cavendish banana cultivars propagated either by traditional suckers or by tissue culture. Materials and methods. A randomized complete block experiment was established in a commercial plantation in Cameroon to compare the performance of three tissue-cultured banana plants of Grand Nain, Williams and Zelig cultivars and two conventionally-propagated plants of Grand Nain and Williams. Morphological, phenological and yield component data were collected for six crop cycles. Results. All the plants grew vigorously and produced quality exportable fruits. However, the tissue-cultured plants consistently produced heavier bunches and higher yields than the conventionally-propagated plants. The highest yields (65.92 t?ha?1for Grand Nain, 64.60 t?ha?1for Williams and 65.58?t?ha?1for Zelig) were obtained for the tissue-cultured plants in the third crop cycle compared with 51.43?t?ha?1and 59.02?t?ha?1obtained for the traditionally-propagated Grand Nain and Williams plants, respectively. There were no significant yield differences between the plants of different origin in the second and fourth cycles, respectively. However, the tissue-cultured Williams and Zelig plants outperformed the other plants in the sixth crop cycle. Conclusion. The tissue-cultured plants of the three Cavendish cultivars studied performed better than the plants resulting from conventional suckers. The best cultivar for commercial plantation used, that is located in a tropical environment, was Williams. In general, to obtain an optimum benefit, we would recommend the use of tissue-cultured plants over a period of 6?7 years with good management practices.Introduction. Les bananiers sont traditionnellement propag?s par rejets, n?anmoins, l''avantage de l?utilisation de plants issus de micropropagation a ?t? d?montr? en bananeraie au cours des derni?res ann?es. En d?pit de l''utilisation ? grande ?chelle de tels plants en r?gions subtropicales, peu d''informations sont disponibles sur les performances de tels bananiers dans les pays tropicaux. Nous avons donc compar? le potentiel de rendement de quelques cultivars de bananiers Cavendish propag?s soit par rejets traditionnels, soit par culture de tissus. Mat?riel et m?thodes. Une exp?rimentation en blocs complets randomis?s a ?t? mise en place dans une plantation commerciale du Cameroun pour comparer les performances de plants issus de la culture de tissus de trois cultivars de bananier (Grand Naine, Williams et Zelig) et de plants provenant de la multiplication traditionnelle de deux cultivars (Grande Naine et Williams). Des donn?es morphologiques, ph?nologiques et de rendement ont ?t? rassembl?es sur six cycles de r?colte. R?sultats. Tous les plants se sont d?velopp?s vigoureusement et ont produit des fruits de qualit? exportable. Cependant, les plants issus de culture de tissus ont produit des r?gimes plus lourds et de meilleurs rendements que les plants d?origine conventionnelle. Les rendements les plus ?lev?s (65,92 t?ha?1pour Grande Naine, 64,60 t?ha?1pour Williams et 65,58 t?ha?1pour Zelig) ont ?t? obtenus pour les plants issus de micropropagation en troisi?me cycle de r?colte, alors que les plants de Grande Naine et de Williams multipli?s de fa?on traditionnelle ont alors donn?, respectivement, 51,43?t?ha?1et 59,02?t?ha?1. Il n''y pas eu de diff?rences significatives de rendement entre les plants de diff?rentes origines en deuxi?me et quatri?me cycle. Cependant, les plants de Williams et de Zelig issus de culture de tissus ont ?t? sup?rieurs aux autres plants lors du sixi?me cycle de r?colte. Conclusion. Les plants issus de la micropropagation des trois cultivars de Cavendish ?tudi?s ont eu de meilleures performances que les plants r?sultant de rejets conventionnels. Le meilleur cultivar de la plantation commerciale ?tudi?e, situ?e dans un environnement tropical, a ?t? Williams. Pour obtenir globalement un r?sultat optimal, nous recommanderions d?utiliser des plants issus de la culture de tissus, sur 6 ? 7?ans, en leur assurant de bonnes pratiques de gestion. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]