Protective effect of magnesium-L-ascorbyl-2 phosphate against skin damage induced by UVB irradiation

The protective effect of magnesium-L-ascorbyl-2-phosphate (MAP) on cutaneous photodamage such as lipid peroxidation and inflammation induced by ultraviolet B (UVB) exposure (290-320 nm, max. 312 nm) was investigated using hairless mice. When MAP was administered intraperitoneally to mice at a dose of 100 mg of ascorbic acid (AS) per kg body weight base immediately before irradiation (15 kj/m2), the expected increases in thiobarbituric acid reactive substance (TBARS) formation in skin and serum sialic acid, indices of lipid peroxidation and inflammatory reaction, respectively, were significantly reduced. However, the expected decrease in the level of cutaneous AS was unchanged. Similar results were observed for animals given 100 mg of AS-Na per kg body weight before UVB irradiation. When MAP was administered intracutaneously immediately before irradiation, the expected UVB-induced increases in TBARS and sialic acid were again significantly prevented. Ascorbic acid-Na had a less protective effect than intracutaneous MAP administration. The cutaneous AS level was significantly higher in the MAP-treated mice than in the controls, and the UVB-induced decrease in tissue AS was prevented by intracutaneous MAP administration. These results suggest that MAP protects against UVB irradiation-induced lipid peroxidation and inflammation in cutaneous tissue, regardless of the drug administration route. We found, in an in vitro experiment, that MAP was converted to AS as it crossed the epidermis, but that AS-Na did not pass through the epidermis. Furthermore, MAP was also converted to AS in serum. These results suggest that the protective effect of MAP on UVB-induced cutaneous damage is due to conversion of MAP to AS.