Our Skin Pigments Help Protect Against UV Damage: Study

Skin pigment helps shield against UV radiation dmange, according to a study.

It is well known that excessive exposure to UV radiations causes skin damage like wrinkling and dark spots. These conditions eventually cause melanoma and other forms of skin cancer. Experts from the Lund University discovered how our natural pigments can prevent cancer and UV damages. They examined the melanin present in the skin and hair also known as eumelanin and pheomelanin. Generally, people with pale skin and red hair have high amount of pheomelanin while presence of eumelanin imparts brown and black color to the hair.

"We found that eumelanin converts harmful UV radiation into heat with almost 100 per cent efficiency. The chemical reaction is incredibly quick, taking less that a thousandth of a billionth of a second," said Villy Sundström, researcher and professor of Chemistry at Lund University in a news release.

The authors found when the UV light is absorbed by the pigment molecules; it releases a hydrogen ion-proton. These reactions cause the melanin to expunge the energy from UV light by ousting out a proton projectile. The projectile converts light energy to heat and transfers it to the tissues surrounding it.

"In this way, the pigment disarms the energy in the UV light and prevents it causing harmful chemical reactions," adds Sundström.

So far, it is believed that eumelanin protects from UV light and pheomelanin makes skin vulnerable to skin cancer. This is why skin cancers are common for most red heads. The current findings explain how our body is structured to ward off the risk of diseases and this information will  help in developing treatment strategies for skin cancer, reports the Laboratory Equipment.

More information is available online in the journal of American Chemical Society.