Overview

• Published in Advanced Functional Materials, the research details a water-based method that turns Camellia and sunflower pollen shells into sporopollenin microgels.
• Bench and animal tests found UV blocking comparable to commercial sunscreens with an estimated SPF of about 30 and reductions in skin cell damage and inflammation.
• Under simulated sunlight, the Camellia formulation lowered skin surface temperature by roughly 5°C for about 20 minutes.
• In controlled coral exposures, a commercial sunscreen caused bleaching within two days and death by day six, while the pollen microgel showed no detectable harm for up to 60 days.
• The team says the prototype remains pre-commercial and needs durability and water-resistance optimization, human trials, scalable sourcing, regulatory review, and real-world environmental validation.