Topical sun protective cosmetics (sunscreens, pre- and post-sun) have been intensively\ndeveloped and produced to protect human skin against solar irradiation-associated damages/pathologies.\nUnfortunately, routine cosmetics for sun protection containing synthetic organic and/or physical\nsunscreens could exert adverse effects towards human organisms and bring undesirable ecological\nchanges. Terrestrial and marine plant species, being exposed to sun light for hundreds of millions of\nyears, have evolved two pro-survival strategies: effective protection against/adaptation to its deleterious\neffects and the use of solar energy for photosynthesis/photo-biochemical reactions. Secondary plant\nmetabolites (SPM) are primary sensors of solar energy and mediators of its use (photo-sensitisers)\nor neutralisation (photo-protectors). A similar double photo-protective/photo-sensitising system\nis built in within human skin. Modern development of toxicologically/ecologically safe yet\neffective sun-protective cosmetics attempts to pre-select photo-stable and non-phototoxic SPMs\nthat provide broad UVA + UVB sunscreen, free radical scavenging and direct antioxidant defence,\nendogenous antioxidant rescue, induction of antioxidant enzymes (indirect antioxidant defence),\nand normalisation of metabolic and immune responses to UVA + UVB. Proper formulation of sun\nprotective cosmetics should assure targeted delivery of photo-active SPMs to definite skin layers to\ninvigorate the built in photo-chemical skin barrier.
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