Colobanthus quitensis. It is one of the two vascular species (flowering plants) next to Deschampsia antárctica. Arctic plant species that grow on the flat surface of the tundra. Alpine plants from the North Pole that grow on sloping ground. With the arrival of summer in Antarctica, the snow melts in some places, leaving the ground exposed to the intense rays of the sun. A species of plant that grows there – the Antarctic carnation (Colobanthus quitensis) – developed a defense mechanism to counteract UV damage. According to a team of scientists from the University of Santiago , in ChileThe group of molecules that allows the plant to defend itself against radiation can be used to create a sunscreen for humans.
Plant as a sunscreen for humans
The researcher Gustavo Zúñiga , dean of the Faculty of Chemistry and Biology, He explained in an interview that they have managed to demonstrate that the plant has “the ability to protect macromolecules such as DNA, which is a fundamental part of the cell, from the damage that ultraviolet radiation induces.” This finding will allow the plant to be used to develop sunscreens “with molecules that are natural and very efficient,” said the scientist in charge of the research, who highlighted the advantages that it has over filters that use chemical compounds. “Some filters use chemical substances. synthetics that, while efficient, have some negative effects for the consumer, “he stressed. The plant that has the solar filtering mechanism is known as the Antarctic pearl or Antarctic carnation, a species that developed a defense mechanism to counteract the damage that can be caused by the extreme environment in which it lives in Antarctica. Unlike other places on the planet where organisms are more constantly exposed to ultraviolet radiation, in Antarctica it is concentrated and triggered at one time.
