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Production of Natural UV-Absorbing Sunscreens in Plant Leaves

CSEF · 2023 Plant Biology Second Award

Sternson Samuel · 7

Overview

• Plants produce molecules, such as flavonoids, which can protect leaves from harmful UV light. My hypothesis was that plants with more sun exposure would produce more UV absorbing molecules than plants grown in shade. • To measure UV absorbing molecules in plants, I took extracts from eight plant species grown in sun or shade and measured their UV absorbance. • Sun exposure was associated with more UV absorbing molecules. Orange leaves (grown in high sun), had the highest amount of UV absorbing molecules, which supported my hypothesis. Also, Myoporum leaves grown in sunlight absorbed more UV than Myoporum grown in shade. However, Peppermint Geranium (grown in shade), had substantial amounts of UV absorbing molecules, which was not predicted by my hypothesis. • Flavonoids are used by plants for multiple purposes in addition to UV absorption. My results indicate that flavonoids from some plants could be used as natural sunscreens.

Source coverage

This record comes from a published award list, not a complete project archive. Its abstract comes from CSEF's public project showcase as archived by the Internet Archive before judging (https://web.archive.org/web/20230401224130/https://ca-csef.zfairs.com/showcase/ShowcaseInfo?f=838e60b7-ea75-46e8-865c-fde4864244b3); the version presented may differ.

Awards (1)

Competition history

  • CSEF 2023 Plant Biology · Entry J1805

Resources

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