TAICHUNG, Taiwan—The sun can do a number on the skin; and as summer approaches many consumers will poolside or beach bumming hoping to work on their tan. Problem is the sun-tanning process occurs as a spontaneous response to UV irradiation, which will induce tanning and DNA damage, processes that can lead to photoaging and skin disorders such as hyperpigmentation and cancer. Since pigment melanin protects skin from UV damage, an efficient melanin-promoting suntan lotion could be highly beneficial for consumers.
In a study published in Phototherapy Research, Taiwanese researchers developed a process to increase the content of naringenin in citrus extracts and to determine whether a higher naringenin content of citrus would induce melanogenesis (2011 Apr;25(4):569-76). Melanin content and tyrosinase expression in mouse B16 melanoma cells were assayed after treatment with citrus plant extracts and their hydrolysates. The results indicate that hydrolysis increased the naringenin content in citrus extracts and that citrus preparations stimulated cellular melanogenesis and tyrosinase expression. Researchers said, “It is suggested that this method is applicable to the industrial production of melanin-promoting suntan lotions with anti-photocarcinogenic properties derived from citrus rind and citrus products."