
Excessive exposure of solar ultraviolet (UV) radiation, particularly its UV-B component, to humans causes many adverse effects that include erythema, hyperplasia, hyperpigmentation, immunosuppression, photoaging and skin cancer. In recent years, there is increasing use of botanical agents in skin care products. Pomegranate derived from the tree Punica granatum contains anthocyanins (such as delphinidin, cyanidin and pelargonidin) and hydrolyzable tannins (such as punicalin, pedunculagin, punicalagin, gallagic and ellagic acid esters of glucose) and possesses strong antioxidant and anti-inflammatory properties.
Taken together, our data shows that pomegranate fruit extract protects against the adverse effects of UV-B radiation by inhibiting UV-B–induced modulations of NF-κB and MAPK pathways and provides a molecular basis for the photochemopreventive effects of pomegranate fruit extract PFE.
Photochemistry and Photobiology, Volume 81, Issue 1, pages 38–45, January 2005