Black raspberries, a variety of the common raspberry, may significantly slow the growth of skin cancers that have been linked to ultraviolet B (UVB) radiation, the light that is most dangerous to health, new research has found.
The fruit may also ease the inflammation associated with sunburn.
Researchers at the Ohio State University used an extract of black raspberries made into a rub-on jelly applied to the skin to test its protective effect.
Tests on animals exposed to UVB shows that levels of compounds associated with skin damage rose 500 per cent on untreated skin, but only 37 per cent on skin treated with the gel. The gel also reduced the size and number of tumours.
Dr Anne Van Buskirk, professor of surgery at Ohio State's College of Medicine, said: “It could mean that, one day, we may be seeing a gel that could be used after you get sunburned - one that not only eases pain, but also lessens sun damage you have suffered.”
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