Development and Effect Analysis of UVB-LED General Lighting to Support Vitamin D Synthesis

Abstract

Ultraviolet rays from sunlight are involved in vitamin D synthesis, which is essential in maintaining health. Most in vivo vitamin D synthesis occurs via exposure to sunlight, whereas a small portion is obtained through diet. Therefore, appropriate exposure to sunlight is recommended to satisfy vitamin D requirement. However, vitamin D deficiency still poses a serious issue to numerous people. To resolve this problem, artificial lighting has been studied to provide rays of UV light with characteristics similar to that of sunlight. The present study introduced vitamin D synthesis stimulating UVB-LED light via the general diffusion lighting type to indoor dwellers. However, despite the strides of advancement made in this type of lighting, studies on UVB with relation to vitamin D synthesis are limited. This study aimed to suggest UVB-LED lighting for indoor dwellers and confirm the effectiveness of vitamin D stimulation through animal testing. For this, a UVB-LED providing safe UVB dosage was developed based on the photobiological safety (IEC 62471) of lighting. Next, a comparison study of the suggested lighting and general lighting was executed in an isolated system. The study continued for two weeks and the vitamin D levels within the animal test subject (Rat, Wistar, male) were measured. At this time, the lighting was turned on for 06:00~22:00 considering the sunrise timing and average lighting time for modern people, and blood was collected from the caudal veins of the rats and analyzed for the amount of 25-hydroxyvitamin D [25(OH)D]. Analysis results showed that the amount of 25-hydroxyvitamin D [25(OH)D] in blood was higher, on average, by 6.8% (0.97 ng/mL) and 7.3% (0.9 ng/ml) in rats reared under UVB-LED lighting on the seventh and fourteenth experimental days, respectively, than those under general lighting. It was, therefore, confirmed that vitamin D synthesis in the human body can be supported by the proposed lighting in this study.

An Exploration of How Solar Radiation Affects the Seasonal Variation of Human Mortality Rates and the Seasonal Variation in Some Other Common Disorders

“…UV fluorescent lamps have, however, already been used to increase vitamin D [146,147]. More recently, UVB sources using LEDs are being developed for stimulating vitamin D 3 production [148,149].…”

Light Emitting Diodes as a Phototherapy Light Source for Increasing Vitamin D: A Review

“…30 The 25(OH)D level in the blood of rats exposed to UVB LED illumination was higher than that under general illumination. 29 The wavelength is very important in phototherapy because the biological components of the skin have several important absorption ranges at certain wavelengths. Some of the most common tissue components are water, blood, proteins, lipids, and other chromophores that have spectra between 200 and 1200 nm.…”

Recently employed engineering techniques to reduce the spread of COVID-19 (corona virus disease 2019): a review study

“…The UV spectrum can also be divided into main four subsets of bands according to their wavelength, UVA (0.32-0.4 µm), UVB (0.28-0.32 µm), UVC (0.2-0.28 µm), and VUV (0.1-0.2 µm), as shown in Figure 3 [11][12][13]. Regarding to UVA, it is not absorbed by the ozone layer, but it is penetrate the atmosphere, but most portion of the UVB and all UVC are absorbed by ozone layer, vapor of the water, carbon dioxide and oxygen [14].…”

“…From another point of view, the impact of regular sunlight on the human body has a great interest in medical science. Where the UV rays from the natural source provide our bodies with vitamin D, which is very important to our health [14].…”

“…This source types are used in many applications, whether in the field of medicine, industry, trade, research, or at home, the second source is natural, where sunlight is the main source of natural UV light. As of late, regular sunlight on the human body has a great interest in the science of medicine [14,16,17].…”