法国研究人员日前发现，4000年前的古埃及人把含有少量铅的化合物加入眼妆中，这样做不但不会伤害眼睛，还有很好的药用价值。
这项研究由法国国家科研中心、居里大学、巴黎高等师范学院等机构共同完成。研究人员说，此前人们发现，4000年前古埃及人的化妆品中大都含有铅的成分。另外，古希腊和古罗马的医书中也曾记载，把某些含有铅的化合物混入眼妆中，就能对眼睛起到保护作用。这在现代人看来多少有些离奇，因为铅有毒。
为了找出事实真相，研究人员将正二价的铅离子作为研究对象，让其与眼部细胞发生反应，然后用超微电极进行分析。结果发现，少量铅不但不会对眼部细胞造成损害，还能刺激产生大量能启动免疫系统的物质，促使免疫系统生成巨噬细胞，吞噬眼部细菌，从而防止眼睛发生病变。
这项研究成果已经发表在新一期的美国《分析化学》月刊网络版上。
推荐原始出处：
Anal. Chem., Article ASAP DOI: 10.1021/ac902348g
Finding Out Egyptian Gods’ Secret Using Analytical Chemistry: Biomedical Properties of Egyptian Black Makeup Revealed by Amperometry at Single Cells
Issa Tapsoba??, Stphane Arbault?§, Philippe Walter* and Christian Amatore*?
UMR CNRS 8640 “PASTEUR” and LIA CNRS XiamENS “NanoBioChem”, Ecole Normale Suprieure, Dpartement de Chimie, Universit Pierre et Marie Curie, 24 Rue Lhomond, 75231 Paris Cedex 05, France, and UMR CNRS 171 “C2RMF”, Palais du Louvre, Porte des Lions, 14 Quai Franois Mitterand, 75001 Paris, France
Lead-based compounds were used during antiquity as both pigments and medicines in the formulation of makeup materials. Chemical analysis of cosmetics samples found in Egyptians tombs and the reconstitution of ancient recipes as reported by Greco-Roman authors have shown that two non-natural lead chlorides (laurionite Pb(OH)Cl and phosgenite Pb2Cl2CO3) were purposely synthesized and were used as fine powders in makeup and eye lotions. According to ancient Egyptian manuscripts, these were essential remedies for treating eye illness and skin ailments. This conclusion seems amazing because today we focus only on the well-recognized toxicity of lead salts. Here, using ultramicroelectrodes, we obtain new insights into the biochemical interactions between lead(II) ions and cells, which support the ancient medical use of sparingly soluble lead compounds. Submicromolar concentrations of Pb2+ ions are shown to be sufficient for eliciting specific oxidative stress responses of keratinocytes. These consist essentially of an overproduction of nitrogen monoxide (NO°). Owing to the biological role of NO° in stimulating nonspecific immunological defenses, one may argue that these lead compounds were deliberately manufactured and used in ancient Egyptian formulations to prevent and treat eye illnesses by promoting the action of immune cells.
