...could kill skin cancer cells
During recent laboratory experiments, researchers have discovered that mice slathered with caffeine develop fewer skin tumours than untreated animals. This suggests that the chemical that adds zip to coffee also provides protection against skin cancer.
The researchers from New Jersey-based Rutgers University found that a skin lotion spiked with caffeine or with another compound found in green tea reduced by more than half the number of skin tumours on hairless mice that had been exposed to high levels of ultraviolet radiation. Excess exposure to these radiation can cause skin cancer.
According to the researchers, unlike sunscreen lotions that protect the skin against cancer by preventing it from absorbing ultraviolet rays from the Sun, the caffeine's cancer protection works in the cells after exposure to the ultraviolet rays by preventing cell mutation.
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