Photoprotection against the UVB-induced oxidative stress and epidermal damage in mice using leaves of three different Varieties of Lepidium meyenii (maca)

GONZALES-CASTAÑEDA, CYNTHIA; RIVERA, VALERY; CHIRINOS, ANA; EVELSON, PABLO; GONZALES, GUSTAVO

INTERNATIONAL JOURNAL OF DERMATOLOGY

WILEY-BLACKWELL PUBLISHING, INC

Lugar: Rochester, Estados Unidos; Año: 2010

0011-9059

Background: Skin exposure to Ultraviolet (UV)-B radiation leads to epidermal damage and generation of reactive oxygen species (ROS). The photoprotective effect of extracts of three varieties of leaves (red, yellow and black) from maca (Lepidium meyenii), a plant from the Peruvian highlands, was assessed in mouse skin exposed to UV-B radiation.  Methods: The hydroalcoholic extracts of three varieties of maca leaves were applied topically to the dorsal skin of young-adult male mice prior to exposition to UV-B radiation. Results: The three varieties had UV-A/UV-B absorptive properties and presented antioxidant activity, being highest with red maca, followed by black and yellow maca. The three varieties of maca leaves prevented the development of sunburn cells, epidermal hyperplasia, leukocytic infiltration and other alterations produced by UV-B radiation. Mice treated with black maca showed the highest superoxide dismutase (SOD) levels, and mice treated with black and yellow maca showed higher catalase levels in skin, whereas red maca protected the skin and liver against significant increases in the lipid peroxidation activity observed in the unprotected animals. Conclusion: The presence of a significant antioxidant activity and the inhibition of lipid peroxidation suggest that the observed protection could be partly attributable to this mechanism.