The UV-B protective effect of humic substances provide the basis for the development of a peat lipstick
in-vitro Grade D 2012 Open access
Authors: Seel, Y., Guhr, M., Klöcking, R., Schubert, R., Schoenherr, J.I.
Journal: 14th International Peat Congress — Extended Abstract No. 344 : 1-7
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Key Findings
- Natural humic acid from peat and several synthetic humic-acid-like substances were analyzed by UV/VIS spectroscopy (280-800nm) against a PABA reference absorber
- At 100 µg/ml the humic substances absorbed 60-84% of UV-B and roughly 50% of UV-A; at 1000 µg/ml, UV-B filtering was near-total
- U937 cells irradiated with UV-B and then treated with humic substances at 100-1000 µg/ml were protected from UV-induced damage by more than 60%, comparable to PABA
- Peat-derived humic acid alone reached near-complete protection (~108%) at 1000 µg/ml
- Study conducted as part of a peat-lipstick development project aiming to reduce UV-B-triggered herpes labialis recurrence
An in-vitro study investigating humic acids as UV-absorbing, cytoprotective ingredients for a photoprotective peat-derived lipstick. It demonstrates two linked findings: humic substances strongly absorb UV-B and UV-A radiation in a dose-dependent manner, and this translates into measurable cell protection — U937 cells pretreated with humic acid were shielded from UV-B-induced damage by 60% or more, comparable to the reference sunscreen ingredient PABA. This is the first evidence in this library for a dedicated photoprotective mechanism, and it is a single in-vitro study — no clinical or ex-vivo skin data exist yet, and no antiviral or herpes-labialis endpoint was directly tested here despite that being the study’s motivating rationale.
humic-acidUV-protectionphotoprotectivein-vitrocosmetic-formulation