Licorice extract (glycyrrhiza glabra) — licorice extract has a depigmenting effect as well as an inhibitory effect on melanin synthesis given its ability to act as a tyrosinase inhibitor. As a depigmenting agent, licorice extract is described as more effective than kojic acid and 75 times more effective than ascorbic acid. The chief constituent of licorice root is glycyrrhizin, present in concentrations that range from 5 to 24 percent depending on the variety of licorice used.