Abstract
Hypocrellin A (HA) and elsinochrome C (EC) are naturally-occurring perylenequinonoid photosensitizers. To evaluate their potential as photoactive medicines and/or pesticides, the photobleaching behaviors of both compounds were studied in two organic systems (ethanol and DMSO). It was found that, although HA and EC possess comparable photosensitizing activities, EC is more stable to photobleaching than HA. Both pigments exhibited higher photo-stability in ethanol than in DMSO. Therefore, it seems that EC has more developmental potential than HA and its photobleaching behavior can be modified by changes in media polarity.
