Results in Chemistry (Jan 2022)
Do the polyphenolic compounds from natural products can protect the skin from ultraviolet rays?
Abstract
Excessive exposure to the sun is a major cause that augment the skin cancer, erythema, edema, abnormal pigmentation and finally suppress the immune system. Due to stratospheric ozone depletion and climate change UV levels are increasing, there is an urgent need to protect human skin from the harmful effects of UV. Compounds with photo- protection activity are very useful in reducing the effect of ultraviolet rays. For this reason, today’s sunscreens that contain one or more different types of chemical filters are used to protect the skin from ultraviolet rays. In the market, several synthetic, UV filter molecules are available, but they have limited use because these active molecules may create adverse effects on human skin such as, cancer, estrogenic activity, or photosensitivity reactions, contact dermatitis, mutations. Therefore, the development of formulations containing plant extracts and algae that may be potentially safer is being extensively studied. For this purpose, we can refer to polyphenol compounds such as flavonoids, which are a branch of natural substances that act as catalysts in the optical phase of photosynthesis, and act as anti-stress agents in plants by removing oxygen free radicals. Natural flavonoids have light and direct protection potential due to their ability to absorb ultraviolet rays and due to their antioxidant ability, as well as anti-inflammatory and immune modulating agents. In this article, the sun photoprotection properties of compounds with polyphenolic structure such as flavonoids derived from plant extracts or algae, as well as new methods in optimizing skin protection products against UV radiation have been investigated.
