SUN worshippers may soon be able to pop a pill to protect their skin instead of slapping on handfuls of lotion.
A tablet that protects against sunburn has performed well in early trials on a small group of volunteers.
The drug, which is made from a herbal extract, significantly reduced damage to skin exposed to direct sunlight. Fewer skin cells were burned and there was less of the harm normally associated with skin cancer.
Experts at Massachusetts General Hospital in Boston developed the pill from a plant grown in Central America. For several years, they have been exploring its unique protective qualities in shielding skin from the sun's harmful rays.
The latest breakthrough, reported in the Journal of the American Academy of Dermatology, suggests an oral treatment for sunbathers has moved one step closer.
Taking a pill before sunbathing would be much simpler than having to regularly top up on sunscreen, especially for children.
Although sun lotions do offer protection, it can be hard to judge how much to use and how often to put it on. Doubts have also emerged over the effectiveness of some of Britain's top brands. A Which? magazine probe last summer revealed some high-factor creams provided less protection than manufacturers claimed, or did not block out damaging UVA rays fully.
Overexposure to the sun has been largely blamed for a 24pc rise in cases of malignant melanoma - the most lethal skin cancer - since the mid-1990s.
Every year around 1,700 people die from the disease and it is now the third most common cancer in those aged 15 to 39.
Experts fear young people may be storing up a skin cancer time bomb by ignoring warnings on sunbathing. Despite government attempts to promote safe sunbathing, it is feared the number of cases will continue to rise.
A study last year by the charity Cancer Research UK found three out of four young people still want a tan, even though they know it could give them cancer.
Only seven per cent said they would avoid the sun if they went on holiday to a hot country.
The chances of reducing skin cancer cases could potentially be greatly improved if holidaymakers were able to take a pill to protect them.
In the latest research, skin specialist Dr Salvador Gonzalez and his team of scientists studied the qualities of an extract called polypodium leucotomos, taken from a fern that grows widely across Central America.
The plant is already known to have the ability to destroy cancerous cells and is rich in antioxidants. Natives of Central America have used it as a form of medicine for centuries.
The Massachusetts team took the plant extract and turned it into a capsule.
They then recruited nine volunteers who had skin types two to three.
These are people who have pale skin but will eventually go brown if they are gradually exposed to the sun. Without protection, it would normally take them 20 to 30 minutes to burn.
Each volunteer was exposed to varying doses of artificial UVA radiation on their backs without any protection.
Twenty-four hours later, researchers measured the reddening of their skin and took biopsies to study DNA damage.
The experiment was then repeated, but only after each recruit had swallowed a pill containingthe plant extract. The results revealed a substantial decrease in skin reddening, burning of cells and damage that could lead to cancer.
The pill seems to have several effects. One is to limit dilation of blood vessels near the surface of the skin, which is what makes it turn red.
It also blocks damage to socalled Langerhans cells. In a healthy body these cells move between the skin and the lymph nodes. But if they become damaged by cancer they are more likely to deposit cancerous cells in the lymph nodes, so spreading the melanoma.
Dr Gonzalez hailed the experiment as the first to produce a pill that could stop sunburn. 'An oral treatment would have substantial benefits,' he says.
'This may contribute to prevention of skin cancer.'
Emma Knight from Cancer Research UK said using antioxidants in a pill could in theory mop up so-called free radicals, harmful molecules that are thought to be involved in cancer.
But she added: 'The concept of taking a pill to prevent skin cancer holds a certain appeal. But this option is not just around the corner - the current study involved only nine people, so the research is at a very early stage.'
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