Screening of Sun Protective Activity of the Ethyl Acetate Extracts of Some Medicinal Plants

Natural substances extracted from plants have recently been considered as potential sunscreen resources because of their ultraviolet ray absorption in the UVA region and their antioxidant activity. In the present study, the UV protective effects of ethyl acetate extracts of some common medicinal plants, which have flavonoids and other phenolics as the most important components, were evaluated using diffuse transmittance method and calculating Sun Protection Factors (SPFs). The ethyl acetate extracts of sixteen medicinal plants were analyzed for their in vitro SPF by measurement of their transmittanceat different concentrations in methanol. Extracts of leaves of Dracocephalum moldavica L. (Lamiaceae) and flowering tops of Viola tricolor L. (Violaceae) had the highest SPFs, i.e.24.79 and 25.69, respectively. D. moldavica and V. tricolor had high amounts of phenolic compounds and flavonoids., which could be the cause for their high SPF.