Plant metabolite shows strong promise as a natural human sunscreen

Research in Photochemistry and Photobiology indicates that a plant metabolite that can block the effects of ultraviolet (UV) light has promising potential as a natural sunscreen when applied to human skin.

The metabolite, called brachycerine, is a major leaf glucoside alkaloid from the tree Psychotria brachyceras. It absorbs light in the UV range and is a powerful antioxidant protecting the plant's photosynthetic machinery against this radiation.

Investigators found that when applied to human skin samples, skincare formulations containing brachycerine or foliar extract protected the integrity of nerve endings and prevented DNA damage when the samples were exposed to UV-A and UV-B light. Importantly, the study showed that brachycerine is not toxic to mammalian cells.

The alkaloid seems to have a dual mode of action, both shielding skin against UV and mitigating the destructive chemicals that this radiation produces in cells. Since we know how to vegetatively propagate the source plant, this finding represents a promising, sustainable key component for novel broad-spectrum natural sunscreens."

Arthur Germano Fett-Neto, PhD, corresponding author, Federal University of Rio Grande do Sul (UFRGS), Brazil