sunscreens essay
Introduction and Background
Plants use sunlight to obtain the energy required during photosynthesis. However, plants may be affected by some harmful UV rays from the sun. Plants, therefore, need protection from the UV rays without changing the efficiency of the photosynthesis process. The penetration ability of UV rays makes the use of normal shading ineffective in protecting the plants whereas excessive shading only limits the plants from assessing enough light required for photosynthesis. When plants fail to obtain sufficient light, they grow weak and may not give the required products. The impacts of UV rays can be diverse and may even act to affect the quality of produce obtained from plants. The effect on the produce further may affect the consumers of the products.
Plants need to bask in the direct sunlight for as long as possible, and therefore sunscreen is a savior for most of the plants. The work of sunscreen is to absorb light particles, referred to as photons to be used in photosynthesis while protecting the plant from the harmful effects of UV rays (Kumar et al. 2018). Under normal conditions, plants produce their sunscreen by producing molecules known as sinapate esters which form a layer near the leaf surface. The naturally produced sunscreen is so efficient that the molecules can filter harmful UV rays and allow the useful rays to penetrate the internal leaf structure for photosynthesis. Don't use plagiarised sources.Get your custom essay just from $11/page
Artificial sunscreens, however, may contain particles that are harmful to the ecosystem. For example, the addition of Zinc particles into different sunscreen products has improved the effectiveness of protecting plants from direct UV rays. However, the extensive use of zinc has significant adverse impacts on the ecosystem. Hou et al. (2018) researched to assess the impacts of zinc oxide Nanoparticles on plants and algae. The study did a review of the harmful impacts of zinc oxides and put forward the problems that need to be addressed concerning sunscreens. The conclusions made from the study showed that the methods through which sunscreens containing zinc particles were transported exposed the ecosystem to the harmful effects of zinc oxides. Also, the application and disposal offered a significant risk of contamination from the particles. The presence of zinc oxide in the environment has a lethal threat to the health of plants and could lead to abnormal growth and death to some plants.
The effects of UV ray filters are evident daily at different parts on plants. However, sufficient research has not been done to assess the effects of the filters on plants. Fel et al. (2018) researched to assess the impact of the response from photochemical by various plants towards some sunscreen ingredients. The study aimed at closing the gap left by many studies by not assessing the effect of sunscreens on the general health of plants. The effects on the health of plants could well be associated with the various compounds present on sunscreens beginning from the preservatives and the UV filters. The results from the study showed contracting findings with some filters having a significant effect on the health of the tested plants while others had no significant effect on the health of the plants. The general conclusion from the study was that sunscreen ingredients affect plant health either positively or negatively depending on the type of plant and the method of application.
The gaps left out by the studies already done concerning sunscreens form a basis for this study. The objective of the study is to assess the effect of sunscreen on lima beans. Lima beans have been selected to represent the entire family of legumes. The choice of the plant to use was motivated by the fact that lima beans are not susceptible to several plant diseases and thus conclusions drawn from them are reliable. Also, the study is done at a period when several parts of the world are being hit by food crises, and thus studies are required to improve the productivity of edible plants. The conclusions from this study will be useful in developing more resistant leguminous plants and the production of less harmful sunscreens.
The extent to which natural sunscreen may go to withstand harmful UV rays is however not clear. Scientists are on the run to study the mechanism by which plants effectively make their sunscreen to produce even more efficient sunscreen for plants. Among the attempts being carried out is finding out whether the use of supplementary sunscreen helps plants in resisting UV radiations, or maybe increasing the productivity levels. This study aims at assessing the effect of sunscreen on Lima beans. The study is done on concoctions comprising of five lima bean plants. Each of the five plants is subjected to different combinations of water and sunscreen. The volume of the mixture for each crop is kept constant.
Hypothesis and Aims
To get reliable results, the research will focus on the effect of sunscreen on lima beans as a sample to represent the leguminous family of plants. “Lima beans are more resistant to crop diseases compared to other legumes,” (Gomes et al. 2017). The conditions of growth will be maintained constant to avoid bias in the observations drawn. The application of water and sunscreen mixture will be kept at a constant overall volume level, but the composition will be varied among crops to assess the effect of different levels of sunscreen. The study will be aimed at rejecting or failing to reject the hypothesis that, sunscreen supplements improve UV resistance among the leguminous plants.
Methods
The use of concoctions has proved to be an effective way of growing healthy plants “One of the most efficient methods of growing plants for a test is by use of concoctions” (Salazar et al. 2016). The study will use concoctions to plant lima bean plants. The plants used will be planted on concoctions where each concoction will hold five plants of the same age. The watering pattern will be different for each plant, but the volume of the mixture used will be maintained at 50 ml. The plants will be watered two times a week with 50 ml of water and sunscreen. The different combinations will be 10 ml of sunscreen and 40 ml water, 3 ml sunscreen and 47 ml water, 1 ml sunscreen and 49 ml water, 0.3 ml sunscreen and 49.7 ml water, and 50 ml of pure water for the last plant. The performance of the plants will then be checked to assess the impact of sunscreen on the plants.
Anticipated Results and Conclusion
At the end of the study, it is expected that plants fed with higher amounts of sunscreen will be healthier than the rest. Also, the plant that only receives water is expected to have suffered from the effects of UV rays. The study may, however, be faced with different challenges that may affect the results obtained. For example, crop diseases may attack some of the plants during the study making the observations inaccurate. Also, some plants could have poor quality before the start of the study and the responses obtained could be affected by external factors. To overcome the challenges that may arise, the crops will be grown from the same nursery bed before being transferred to the concoctions. Also, the plants will be given similar treatments in the event of diseases.
References
Fel, J. P., Lacherez, C., Bensetra, A., Mezzache, S., Béraud, E., Léonard, M., … & Ferrier-Pagès, C. (2019). Photochemical response of the scleractinian coral Stylophora pistillata to some sunscreen ingredients. Coral Reefs, 38(1), 109-122.
Gomes Neto, A. V., Silva, P. R. R., Melo, J. W., Melo Júnior, L. C. D., & França, S. M. D. (2017). Biology and life table of Tetranychus neocaledonicus on lima bean. International Journal of Acarology, 43(8), 622-626.
Hou, J., Wu, Y., Li, X., Wei, B., Li, S., & Wang, X. (2018). Toxic effects of different types of zinc oxide nanoparticles on algae, plants, invertebrates, vertebrates and microorganisms. Chemosphere, 193, 852-860.
Kumar, V., Sharma, M., Khare, T., & Wani, S. H. (2018). Impact of Nanoparticles on Oxidative Stress and Responsive Antioxidative Defense in Plants. In Nanomaterials in Plants, Algae, and Microorganisms (pp. 393-406). Academic Press.
Salazar, C., Zizumbo-Villarreal, D., Colunga-GarcíaMarín, P., & Brush, S. (2016). Contemporary Maya food system in the lowlands of northern Yucatan. In Ethnobotany of Mexico (pp. 133-150). Springer, New York, NY.