Identification of Natural Extracts That Function As Ultraviolet Light Blocking Agents

Identification of Natural Extracts That Function As Ultraviolet Light Blocking Agents

Cosmetic products such as moisturizers, shampoos, make-up, colognes and many others became part of our daily grooming habits. The American Academy of Dermatology reports the average adults use at least seven different cosmetic products each day. As more people use cosmetics, chemical ingredients included in those products are causing more allergic reactions and side effects. Sun block is essential for everyone from infants to elders. It is applied directly onto skin in order to block the harmful effects of UV light; however, many of its ingredients are chemicals that can harm the environment and cause skin irritation in sensitive individuals. Therefore, it is important to identify more natural ingredients that can block UV light effectively and produce no ill-effects on the skin. From literature research, several compounds from herbs and plants have been identified as potential candidates for use in a natural sun block. With that knowledge, these natural compounds will be tested for their ability to function as a sun block in wild-type yeast strains as well as those possessing mutations in genes required for UV light damage repair.