Skin whitening with Chinese herbal medicine has been used in ancient Asia. However, phototoxicity of the active ingredient limits the application. The modified comet assay was used in the current study to detect DNA crosslinking induced by phototoxicity. Result showed that caffeine at 5 µmol/L was able to reduce 5-methoxypsoralen-induced phototoxicity with ultraviolet C (UVC) exposure.
Balansky R. ( 1992) Effects of sodium selenite and caffeine on mutagenesis induced by N-methyl-N-nitrosourea, N-methyl-N -nitro-N-nitrosoguanidine and aflatoxin B1 in S. typhimurium. Mutation Research269(2): 301-317.
2.
Benzie IFF, Szeto YT ( 1999) Total antioxidant capacity of teas by the ferric reducing/antioxidant power assay. Journal of Agricultural and Food Chemistry47(2): 633-636.
3.
Cho YH, Kim JH, Park SM, Lee BC, Pyo HB, and Park HD ( 2006) New cosmetic agents for skin whitening from Angelica dahurica . Journal of Cosmetic Science57(1): 11-21.
4.
Colombo G., Zucchi A., Allegra F., Colombo P., Zani F., and Santi P. ( 2003) In vitro and in vivo study of 5-methox ypsoralen skin concentration after topical application. Skin Pharmacology and Applied Skin Physiology16(2): 130-136.
5.
Devasagayam TP, Kamat JP, Mohan H., and Kesavan PC ( 1996) Caffeine as an antioxidant: inhibition of lipid peroxidation induced by reactive oxygen species. Biochimica et Biophysica Acta1282(1): 63-70.
6.
Farooqi Z., Kesavan PC ( 1992) Radioprotection by caffeine pre- and post-treatment in the bone marrow chromosomes of mice given whole-body gamma-irradiation . Mutation Research269(2): 225-230.
7.
George KC, Hebbar SA, Kale SP, and Kesavan PC ( 1999) Caffeine protects mice against whole-body lethal dose of gamma-irradiation. Journal of Radiological Protection19(2): 171-176.
8.
Lee C. ( 2000) Antioxidant ability of caffeine and its metabolites based on the study of oxygen radical absorbing capacity and inhibition of LDL peroxidation . Clinica Chimica Acta295(1-2): 141-154.
9.
Nemavarkar PS, Chourasia BK, and Pasupathy K. ( 2004) Detection of gamma-irradiation induced DNA damage and radioprotection of compounds in yeast using comet assay. Journal of Radiation Research45(2): 169-174.
10.
Piao XL, Baek SH, Park MK, and Park JH ( 2004) Tyrosinase-inhibitory furanocoumarin from Angelica dahurica . Biological and Pharmaceutical Bulletin27(7): 1144-1146.
11.
Rainska T., Juzwiak S., Dutkiewicz T., Krasowska B., Olenderek B., Rozewicka L., et al. (1992) Caffeine reduces the hepatotoxicity of paracetamol in mice. Journal of International Medical Research20(4): 331-342.
12.
Schwarzschild MA, Xu K., Oztas E., Petzer JP, Castagnoli K., Castagnoli N. Jr, et al. (2003) Neuroprotection by caffeine and more specific A2A receptor antagonists in animal models of Parkinson’s disease. Neurology61(11 Suppl 6): S55-S61.
13.
Szeto YT, Benzie IFF ( 2002) Effects of dietary antioxidants on human DNA ex vivo. Free Radical Research36(1): 113-118.
14.
Szeto YT, Collins AR, and Benzie IFF ( 2002) Effects of dietary antioxidants on DNA damage in lysed cells using a modified comet assay procedure. Mutation Research500(1-2): 31-38.
15.
Valverde M., Rojas E (2009) Environmental and occupational biomonitoring using the Comet assay. Mutation Research681(1): 93-109.
16.
Weiss JF, Landauer MR, Hogan JB, Gunter-Smith PJ, Benson KA, Neta R., et al. (1997) Modification of radiation-induced gastrointestinal and hematopoietic injury in mice by combinations of agents: effects of indomethacin and caffeine. Advances in Experimental and Medicine Biology400B: 865-872.
17.
Yen GC, Chen HY ( 1996) Relationship between antimutagenic activity and major components of various teas. Mutagenesis11(1): 37-41.
18.
Yokozawa T., Dong E. ( 1997) Influence of green tea and its three major components upon low-density lipoprotein oxidation. Experimental and Toxicologic Pathology49(5): 329-335.
19.
Zhu YP ( 1998) Chinese Materia Medica: Chemistry, Pharmacology and Applications CRC Press. Amsterdam: Harwood Academic .