Abstract

Exposure to solar ultraviolet (UV) radiation isassociated with human skin cancer. UV-induced effectsleading to skin damage and carcinogenesis mainly involveinflammation, oxidative stress, DNA damage, andimmunosuppression. Various natural compounds havebeen reported to reverse or attenuate UV-induceddamage and carcinogenesis. Compared with mammalianmodels for screening the efficacy and safety of sunprotectivecompounds, zebrafish serve as a relatively costeffectiveand high-throughput vertebrate model. Aphenotype-based screening of the zebrafish model allowsefficacy and safety assessment at a whole-organism level.Coupled with quantitative structure-activity relationship(QSAR) studies, zebrafish can also be used to evaluatestructural derivatives of potential compounds to achievebetter efficacy, safety, and stability.