Exposure to UV radiation damages the skin and increases the risk of skin cancer. Sunscreen is used to protect the skin from the harmful effects of UV radiation. However, the chemical UV filters used in sunscreen can show toxicity and cause allergic reactions. A safe sunscreen that includes a lower content of chemical UV filters and exerts an excellent effect on UV protection needs to be developed. The objective of this study was to investigate whether the addition of afzelin to sunscreen could improve the sun protection factor (SPF). A synergistic effect between afzelin and organic sunscreen agents including padimate O and oxybenzone was confirmed. Interestingly, 100% in vitro SPF-boosting was observed when afzelin (0.05%) was applied with a standard SPF formulation containing organic sunscreens while afzelin alone had no contribution to the SPF. In vivo SPF analysis of the standard SPF formulation showed an SPF value of 13.3 that increased to 20.1 when supplemented with afzelin (0.05%). Additionally, afzelin showed no skin irritation in a human trial. These results suggest that afzelin is useful as a natural additive in sunscreen formulations and provides an SPF-boosting effect. Afzelin supplementation to the formulation showed the potential to reduce the use of synthetic photoprotectors, which could minimize the risk of synthetic agent toxicity.

暴露于紫外线辐射会损害皮肤并增加患皮肤癌的风险。防晒霜用于保护皮肤免受紫外线辐射的有害影响。然而，防晒霜中使用的化学紫外线过滤剂会表现出毒性并引起过敏反应。需要开发一种安全的防晒霜，其化学紫外线过滤剂含量较低，并且对紫外线防护效果极佳。本研究的目的是调查在防晒霜中添加黄柏素是否可以提高防晒系数 (SPF)。确认了 afzelin 与有机防晒剂（包括 padimate O 和氧苯酮）之间的协同作用。有趣的是，100%体外当阿夫泽林 (0.05%) 与含有有机防晒剂的标准 SPF 配方一起使用时，观察到 SPF 增强，而单独的阿夫泽林对 SPF 没有贡献。标准 SPF 配方的体内SPF 分析显示 SPF 值为 13.3，当补充有 afzelin (0.05%) 时增加到 20.1。此外，afzelin 在人体试验中没有表现出皮肤刺激性。这些结果表明，afzelin 可用作防晒配方中的天然添加剂，并提供增强 SPF 的效果。配方中的 Afzelin 补充剂显示了减少合成光保护剂使用的潜力，这可以最大限度地降低合成剂毒性的风险。