Drinking wine could help to stop sunburn - Telegraph

Ultraviolet (UV) rays emitted by the sun are the leading environmental cause of skin complaints, premature aging, sun burn and even skin cancer.

But in another nod towards the healthy Mediterranean diet, Spanish scientists found substances in the grapes protect cells from the damage.

Already cosmetic companies are registering interest in the hope of making sun creams or pills that copy the process.

Grapes protect against ultraviolet radiation - press release

A group of scientists from the University of Barcelona and the CSIC [Consejo Superior de Investigaciones Científicas / Spanish National Research Council] have shown that some polyphenolic substances extracted from grapes (flavonoids) can reduce the formation of ROSs in human epidermis cells that have been exposed to long-wave (UVA) and medium-wave (UVB) ultraviolet radiation. The study, carried out in vitro in the laboratory, has been published in the Journal of Agricultural and Food Chemistry.The researchers found that the higher the degree of the flavonoids' polymerisation and formation of compounds containing gallic acid, the greater their photoprotective capacity. [...]

The study suggests that these "encouraging results should be taken into consideration in clinical pharmacology using plant-based polyphenolic extracts to develop new photoprotection skin products.

Cosmetics and drugs containing grape compounds are already available, but the way they act on cells has not been well understood until now. "This study supports the idea of using these products to protect the skin from cell damage and death caused by solar radiation, as well as increasing our understanding of the mechanism by which they act", [Marta Cascante, a biochemist at the University of Barcelona and director of the research project, told SINC, the Servicio de Información y Noticias Científicas / Information and Science News Sevice].