The Addition of Astaxanthin 0.5% in Sunscreen SPF 50 Inhibits the Increase of Sunburn Cells in Rats Induced By Ultraviolet Light B

Abstract

Long-term exposure to ultraviolet light can cause chronic inflammation that can damage collagen and increase sunburn cells known as photoaging. There is a prevalence of up to 69% in female students in Jakarta aged 18–21 years who experience aging of the skin due to not using sunscreen. One of the signs of photoaging measured in this study is sunburn cells. This study wants to prove that the addition of astaxanthin 0.5% contained in SPF 50 sunscreen can inhibit the increase in sunburn cells in mice induced by ultraviolet B-light. Sunscreen also has protection limits, for example, SPF 30 has 97% protection, which means there is still 3% of radiation entering the skin so there is still a small portion that can cause free radicals. Additional ingredients are needed so that sunscreen can optimally protect the skin. An experimental study with a post-test-only design was used in this study comparing rats given SPF 50 sunscreen containing no astaxanthin (P1) and rats given SPF 50 sunscreen containing 0.5% astaxanthin (P2) to assess the inhibition of increased sunburn cells. 36 rats (Rattus Norvegicus) were divided into 2 groups and then shaved and exposed to UVB light with a total of 3100 mJ for 5 weeks. After the last exposure in the fifth week, skin tissue was taken fixed and stained using Hematoxylin Eosin to count sunburn cells. Sunburn Cells in group P1 had a value of 0.47 Å} 0.27 cells per high power field (hpf), and group P2 had a value of 0.16 Å} 0.18 cells per hpf. According to the Mann-Whitney test, there is a significant difference in the number of sunburn cells between groups (p < 0.05). From the results of this study, it can be concluded that astaxanthin 0.5% added to SPF 50 sunscreen products can inhibit the increase in sunburn cells.