Melanogenesis is a primary cause responsible for the pigmentation of human skin and hair. Tyrosinase is a key enzyme in melanin biosynthetic pathway. Inhibition of tyrosinase activity is one of the main strategies to reduce the formation of melanin in the skin. Here we reviewed the melanin biosynthetic pathway, the differences between mushroom tyrosinase （mTYR） and human tyrosinase （hTYR）, mechamisms of tyrosinase inhibition, and the plant extracts and monomer components that inhibit tyrosinase activity. The active plant components that inhibit tyrosinases include hydroquinone and its derivatives, benzaldehyde and benzoate derivatives, phenethyls, phenylpropanoids, stilbenes and their derivatives, flavonoids, polyphenols and quinones, which contain the benzene ring or phenolic hydroxy group in their structures. The correlation between the structure of tyrosinase inhibitors from plant extracts and tyrosinase inhibitory activity was discussed, hoping to provide help for relevant researches.
