title: ESR study of photoinduced free radicals by visible light in hair and the effects of ascorbic acid (vitamin C).
abstract: The ESR spectra of melanin's free radicals in natural black and red hair have been investigated. It is shown that the ESR spectrum of black hair is slightly asymmetric singlet with g=2.0037 and ΔH=0.5 mTl. The ESR spectrum of red hair with g=2.0053 differs from the spectrum of black hair. Using the method of saturation was shown that ESR spectrum of red hair represents a superposition of two signals: a singlet, relating to the black hair, and a triplet from red hair's pheomelanin. Under the influence of visible light (blue with λ(max) =450 nm, green with λ(max) =510 nm and red with λ(max) =650 nm) in both types of hair (black and red), the photoinduced free radicals appear, which indicates an increase in the intensity of already existing ESR spectrum of hair. It should be noted that the ESR spectra of red hair from various donors are different. The antioxidant ascorbic acid (vitamin C) has the different effect on the photoinduced free radicals. In particular, in the case of black hair, the concentration of photoinduced free radicals is slightly reduced, whereas in red hair, the disappearance of the triplet in the spectrum is observed, and at the same time, the spectrum becomes a singlet, the intensity of which increases sharply. It is assumed that the antioxidants, effective for black hair, may be ineffective for red hair and vice versa. Therefore, in each, specific case is necessary to investigate the effectiveness of an antioxidant separately.
authors.affiliation: Department of Exact and Natural Sciences, Iv. Javakhishvili Tbilisi State University, 3 Chavchavadze Avenue, Tbilisi, Georgia. ed_chikvaidze@yahoo.com
authors.forename: E
authors.initials: E
authors.lastname: Chikvaidze
authors.forename: I
authors.initials: I
authors.lastname: Khachatryan
mesh_terms: D001205:Ascorbic Acid / Q000737:chemistry*; D004578:Electron Spin Resonance Spectroscopy / Q000379:methods*; D005609:Free Radicals; D006197:Hair / Q000737:chemistry*; D006801:Humans; D008027:Light
chemical_list: D005609:Free Radicals; D001205:Ascorbic Acid