Sun protection effects of secondary metabolites isolated from lichens

What is it about?

Vulpinic acid and gyrophoric acid compounds are special compounds found in lichens. Lichens are living things formed by the combination of algae and fungi. It has been understood that some metabolites are found more in lichens living in high altitudes exposed to sunlight more. Vulpinic acid and gyrophoric acid compounds are also among the lichen metabolites produced more depending on the amount of sunlight. Therefore, there is a thought that these compounds provide a protective effect against ultraviolet rays. In addition, the light absorbance ranges of these lichen metabolites provide clues about their ability to absorb ultraviolet light. In this study, it was investigated whether vulpinic acid and gyrophoric acid compounds have the ability to protect human skin keratinocyte cells against ultraviolet B rays. The reason for the selection of human skin keratinocyte cells is that ultraviolet B rays are capable of penetrating these cells in the skin. As a result of the study, it was determined that non-toxic concentrations of vulpinic acid and gyrophoric acid compounds were able to protect human skin keratinocyte cells against ultraviolet B rays. The findings suggest that vulpinic and gyrophoric acids can be promising cosmetic ingredients to photo-protect human skin cells and should therefore be further investigated by in vitro and in vivo multiple bioassays.

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Photo by Alexander Rodrigues on Unsplash

Photo by Alexander Rodrigues on Unsplash

Why is it important?

The cosmetics industry is a constantly evolving field and sun protection factors have an important place in this field. The study is of great importance for the discovery of natural and low-toxic compounds.

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