美国斯坦福大学William A. Mitch课题组提出海葵和珊瑚可将氧苯酮防晒霜转化为光毒性葡糖苷结合物。相关论文发表在2022年5月6日出版的《科学》杂志上。

他们发现，在包括紫外线 (UV) 辐射（290 至 370 纳米）在内的模拟阳光下，氧苯酮会导致海葵的高死亡率。尽管氧苯酮本身可以防止紫外线引起的光氧化，但海葵和蘑菇珊瑚都形成了强光氧化剂的氧苯酮-葡萄糖苷结合物。藻类共生体隔离了这些结合物，死亡率与动物细胞质中的结合物浓度相关。缺乏共生体的海葵死亡率较高，这表明氧苯酮对因温度升高而漂白的珊瑚的风险增加。由于许多商业防晒霜含有结构相关的化学物质，了解代谢物的光毒性应该有助于开发对珊瑚安全产品。

据报道，基于氧苯酮的防晒霜对珊瑚的毒性引起了人们的担忧，因为生态旅游棚防晒霜对已经被全球压力源削弱的珊瑚的影响。然而，氧苯酮的毒性机制尚不清楚，阻碍了更安全的防晒霜的开发。

附：英文原文

Title: Conversion of oxybenzone sunscreen to phototoxic glucoside conjugates by sea anemones and corals

Author: Djordje Vuckovic, Amanda I. Tinoco, Lorraine Ling, Christian Renicke, John R. Pringle, William A. Mitch

Issue&Volume: 2022-05-06

Abstract: The reported toxicity of oxybenzone-based sunscreens to corals has raised concerns about the impacts of ecotourist-shed sunscreens on corals already weakened by global stressors. However, oxybenzone’s toxicity mechanism(s) are not understood, hampering development of safer sunscreens. We found that oxybenzone caused high mortality of a sea anemone under simulated sunlight including ultraviolet (UV) radiation (290 to 370 nanometers). Although oxybenzone itself protected against UV-induced photo-oxidation, both the anemone and a mushroom coral formed oxybenzone–glucoside conjugates that were strong photo-oxidants. Algal symbionts sequestered these conjugates, and mortality correlated with conjugate concentrations in animal cytoplasm. Higher mortality in anemones that lacked symbionts suggests an enhanced risk from oxybenzone to corals bleached by rising temperatures. Because many commercial sunscreens contain structurally related chemicals, understanding metabolite phototoxicity should facilitate the development of coral-safe products.

DOI: abn2600

Source: https://www.science.org/doi/10.1126/science.abn2600