Natural products as aids for protecting the skin's immune system against UV damage.

Modern sun-protection products reduce the risk for erythema and DNA damage, but even those products with a very high sun protection factor (SPF) and full-spectrum UVB and UVA protection may not prevent UV radiation (UVR)-induced immunomodulation. Formulating sunscreens with a high SPF, as well as a high immune protection factor, is necessary for preventing skin cancer and maintaining effective immune responses to infectious disease after sun exposure. Supplementing current sun-protection products with immunoprotective compounds may help fill the gap between erythema protection and immunoprotection. Animal and now human studies have shown that a class of agents known as oligosaccharins--complex carbohydrates found in plants--protect the cutaneous immune system from UVB-induced and UVA-induced immunomodulation. This immunoprotective effect occurs independently from erythema and DNA damage protection, and these agents, particularly tamarind xyloglucan, may become important adjunctive ingredients to sunscreens.