A mini-review on limitations associated with UV filters

Ultraviolet light from the sun can produce long-term skin damage and cancer. The use of sunscreen products containing one or more UV filters is encouraged by health professionals for pre-venting the damaging effects resulting from sun exposure. However, recently there have been increasing concerns about the use of sunscreens and their safety for both humans and the environ-ment. The sunscreen manufacturers should take the initiative in testing of the products for possible short-term skin toxicity and long-term health effects that might occur due to the absorption of UV filters through the skin. Published studies have shed light on this topic by investigating the harmful effects of UV filters such as oxybenzone on the hormone system of aquatic animals and humans. Currently, in vitro and in vivo animal models are being used to determine the mechanistic and cel-lular effects these products produce. With growing awareness of adverse effects posed by UV filters on the environment and exposed organisms, several jurisdictions are prohibiting their use in sun-screens. To our knowledge, very few reviews summarized the potential toxicities associated with UV filters. Therefore, the current reported findings are rather controversial due to the lack of non -clinical safety assessment data to determine the clinical significance of such exposure.(c) 2022 Published by Elsevier B.V. on behalf of King Saud University. This is an open access article under the CC BY-NC-ND license (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-nd/4.0/).

Automated summary

Ultraviolet light from the sun can cause long-term skin damage and cancer. The use of sunscreen products with UV filters is recommended to prevent sun exposure-related harm. However, there are growing concerns about the safety of sunscreens for humans and the environment. Research has shown that UV filters like oxybenzone can have harmful effects on the hormone systems of aquatic animals and humans. Animal models are currently being used to study the mechanisms and cellular effects of these products. The lack of non-clinical safety assessment data has led to controversy surrounding the reported findings on the potential toxicities of UV filters.