Centre for Research in Agricultural Genomics, Department of Molecular Genetics, Cerdanyola, 08193 Barcelona, Spain.
Department of Molecular Medicine and Medical Biotechnology, University of Naples Federico II, Via Pansini 5, 80131 Napoli, Italy.
Mar Drugs. 2021 Jun 30;19(7):379. doi: 10.3390/md19070379.
In the last few decades, the thinning of the ozone layer due to increased atmospheric pollution has exacerbated the negative effects of excessive exposure to solar ultraviolet radiation (UVR), and skin cancer has become a major public health concern. In order to prevent skin damage, public health advice mainly focuses on the use of sunscreens, along with wearing protective clothing and avoiding sun exposure during peak hours. Sunscreens present on the market are topical formulations that contain a number of different synthetic, organic, and inorganic UVR filters with different absorbance profiles, which, when combined, provide broad UVR spectrum protection. However, increased evidence suggests that some of these compounds cause subtle damage to marine ecosystems. One alternative may be the use of natural products that are produced in a wide range of marine species and are mainly thought to act as a defense against UVR-mediated damage. However, their potential for human photoprotection is largely under-investigated. In this review, attention has been placed on the molecular strategies adopted by marine organisms to counteract UVR-induced negative effects and we provide a broad portrayal of the recent literature concerning marine-derived natural products having potential as natural sunscreens/photoprotectants for human skin. Their chemical structure, UVR absorption properties, and their pleiotropic role as bioactive molecules are discussed. Most studies strongly suggest that these natural products could be promising for use in biocompatible sunscreens and may represent an alternative eco-friendly approach to protect humans against UV-induced skin damage.
在过去的几十年中，由于大气污染的增加，臭氧层变薄加剧了过度暴露于太阳紫外线辐射（UVR）的负面影响，皮肤癌已成为主要的公共卫生关注点。为了防止皮肤损伤，公共卫生建议主要侧重于使用防晒霜，同时穿着防护服并避免在高峰时段暴露在阳光下。市场上的防晒霜是局部制剂，其中包含许多不同的合成，有机和无机 UVR 过滤器，具有不同的吸收谱，这些过滤器结合在一起可提供广谱 UVR 保护。但是，越来越多的证据表明，其中一些化合物会对海洋生态系统造成微妙的损害。一种替代方法可能是使用在广泛的海洋物种中产生的天然产品，这些天然产品主要被认为是抵御 UVR 介导的损伤的防御手段。但是，它们对人类光保护的潜力在很大程度上尚未得到充分研究。在这篇综述中，我们关注了海洋生物为对抗 UVR 诱导的负面影响而采用的分子策略，并广泛介绍了有关具有作为人类皮肤天然防晒霜/光保护剂潜力的海洋衍生天然产物的最新文献。讨论了它们的化学结构，UVR 吸收特性以及作为生物活性分子的多效性作用。大多数研究强烈表明，这些天然产物可能在生物相容性防晒霜中具有广阔的应用前景，并且可能代表着一种环保的替代方法，可以保护人类免受 UV 引起的皮肤损伤。
