Ultraviolet B Light Emitting Diodes (LEDs) Are More Efficient and Effective in Producing Vitamin D3 in Human Skin Compared to Natural Sunlight

Vitamin D, the sunshine vitamin is important for health. Those with fat malabsorption disorders malabsorb vitamin D and thus must rely on cutaneous production of vitamin D-3. Vitamin D-3 is generated secondary to exposure to ultraviolet B (UVB) radiation (whether from the sun or from an artificial source). Light emitting diodes (LEDs) have been developed to emit ultraviolet radiation. Little is known about the efficiency of UVB emitting LEDs tuned to different wavelengths for producing vitamin D-3 in human skin. Ampoules containing 7-dehydrocholesterol were exposed to a LED that emitted a peak wavelength at 293, 295, 298 or 305 nm to determine their efficiency to produce previtamin D-3. The 293 nm LED was best suited for evaluating its effectiveness for producing vitamin D in human skin due to the shorter exposure time. This LED was found to be 2.4 times more efficient in producing vitamin D-3 in human skin than the sun in less than 1/60th the time. This has significant health implications for medical device development in the future that can be used for providing vitamin D supplementation to patients with fat malabsorption syndromes as well as patients with other metabolic abnormalities including patients with chronic kidney disease.