Evaluation of Sun Protection Factor of Northern Iraqi Propolis

One of the main risk factors for skin cancer and photoaging is excessive sun exposure combined with a lack of sun protection. Incorporating natural antioxidant and anti-inflammatory agents into sunscreens and taking natural antioxidant extracts orally are two recent photoprotection approaches. Propolis and its plant precursors have the potential to be used as active components in pharmaceutical and skin care products that mitigate the effects of ultraviolet radiation from the sun. Thus far, no research has been carried out on the photoprotective effects of Northern Iraqi propolis. Ethanol and water extracts of propolis are used in this work because of its potential sun protection factor. This investigation aimed to assess the sun protection factor of Northern Iraqi propolis collected from Erbil, Mosul and Sulaymaniyah. The sun protection factor of propolis extracts were assessed using the methods of Mansur. According to the findings, the extracts' sun protection factor varied from 5.1 to 17.9. The Musol propolis ethanol extract had the greatest sun protection factor at a concentration of 20 ppm (17.9). At 0.5 ppm (5.1), the Erbil water extract had the lowest sun protection factor. Overall, it was noticed that the sun protection factor value of the propolis ethanolic extract was higher than the water extract for each concentration studied.