Around the globe, higher incidents of skin cancer due to excessive exposure to the sun is a growing helath concern. But a University of Saskatchewan research team believes they are on the right path to finding a solution.
Regular sunscreens provide a varied degree of protection, but few offer protection from the broad spectrum of ultra-violet radiation. A research team from the U of S believes plants may hold the key to a better sunscreen.
Dr. Ed Kohl, one of the researchers looking into the new development, says a compound called quercetin, found in plants such as apples and onions, holds much promise. "We've determined that this compound can protect against ultraviolet radiation, oxidative stress. So it works as an anti-oxidant."
Kohl says the team is studying other compounds in the flavonoid family of chemicals to see if they too, exhibit the same protective characteristic.
"We've known for a number years that some plants when they're exposed to a lot of sunlight produce these compounds," says Kohl. "And the only reason they would appear to produce these compounds is so that they can actually protect themselves from sunlight."
Most conventional sunscreens only shield against UV-b rays, which cause sunburns. They don't stop UV-a rays, which carry deeper into the skin. Kohl believes flavonoid compounds may stop most of the rays from entering the skin.
"They may actually protect a little bit more against a different portion of ultra-violet radiation that may be more responsible for causing things like cancers. So that's kind of our hope that perhaps it would be more protective against those."
The research is only in its preliminary stage and it may be years before it turns into a product on the market. But the team is hopeful that the research is on the right track to creating natural sunscreens that include compounds from plants.
