The aim of this study is to identify the ginsenoside components in Panax ginseng fermentation broth (GFB) by liquid chromatography-mass spectrometry technology,and to investigate the whitening activity and mechanism of GFB by combining network pharmacology,molecular docking and experimental validation.The results showed that GFB contained 15 major ginsenoside components.Network pharmacology and molecular docking predicated that GFB reduced melanin synthesis mainly by acting on the advanced glycation end products-receptor for advanced glycation end products/microphthalmia-associated transcription factor-tyrosinase (AGE-RAGE/MITF-TYR) pathway,modulating tyrosinase expression and cellular response to oxidative stress.The results of cellular experiments showed that GFB significantly inhibited melanin content and tyrosinase activity in B16 mouse melanoma cells (B16) (P < 0.05),in addition to significantly reducing reactive oxygen species (ROS) accumulation in cells (P < 0.001).By inhibiting AGE-RAGE/MITF-TYR signaling pathway,GFB reduced ROS accumulation and inhibited tyrosinase activity in the skin,and ultimately exerted whitening activity with multi-component-multi-target-multi-pathway characteristics.