_____________________________________________________________________________________________________ *Corresponding author: E-mail: okobi.ekpo@gmail.com; European Journal of Medicinal Plants 32(12): 94-111, 2021; Article no.EJMP.78249 ISSN: 2231-0894, NLM ID: 101583475 In vitro Effects of the Methanolic Leaf Extract of Otholobium fruticans in Murine B16 Melanoma Cells: Implications for the Treatment of Skin Hyperpigmentation Olubunmi Oyekunle a,b* , Mervin Meyer c , Abram Madiehe c , Ahmed Hussein d and Okobi Ekpo a,e* a Department of Medical Bioscience, University of the Western Cape, Bellville 7535, South Africa. b Department of Physiology, Ladoke Akintola University of Technology, P.M.B. 4000, Ogbomoso, Nigeria. c Department of Biotechnology, University of the Western Cape, Bellville 7535, South Africa. d Department of Chemistry, Cape Peninsula University of Technology, Bellville 7535, South Africa. e Department of Anatomy and Cellular Biology, College of Medicine and Health Sciences, Khalifa University, Abu Dhabi P.O. Box 127788, United Arab Emirates. Authors’ contributions This work was carried out in collaboration among all authors. All authors read and approved the final manuscript. Article Information DOI: 10.9734/EJMP/2021/v32i1230438 Editor(s): (1) Dr. Patrizia Diana, University of Palermo, Italy. (2) Prof. Marcello Iriti, Milan State University, Italy. Reviewers: (1) Zakaria Ahmed, Bangladesh. (2) Aline Oliveira da Conceição, UESC, Brazil. Complete Peer review History, details of the editor(s), Reviewers and additional Reviewers are available here: https://www.sdiarticle5.com/review-history/78249 Received 09 October 2021 Accepted 18 December 2021 Published 21 December 2021 ABSTRACT Hyperpigmentation is a cosmetically important skin disorder which commonly affects the face and neck regions and impacts negatively on the self-esteem of affected persons. Most of the current treatment agents for hyperpigmentation are cosmetic additives and prescription medications which generally act to suppress melanogenesis. However, many of these products are known to have limited effectiveness, deleterious side effects, and induce adverse reactions especially after prolonged use, hence safe and efficacious treatments are required. Herbal formulations are a putative alternative, considering their use for generations in traditional medicine for treating many Original Research Article