Thousands of years ago, ancient Egyptians wore eye makeup, believing that the gods Horus and Ra would protect wearers of the makeup against several eye illnesses and skin ailments.
It was no superstition, reported scientists from France’s Pierre and Marie Curie University in the journal Analytical Chemistry on Jan. 15, having found medical properties in the makeup.
The scientists performed chemical analysis involving scanning electron microscopy and quantitative X-ray diffraction for 52 makeup samples preserved in the Louvre Museum in Paris.
The researchers found the makeup was prepared by mixing together four lead minerals—the dark galena (lead sulfide) and the white cerussite (lead carbonate), phosgenite (lead chlorocarbonate), and laurionite (lead chloride hydroxide).
Very small concentrations of lead ions are known to react with the skin and stimulate the overproduction of nitrogen monoxide (nitric oxide). This molecule is an important biological messenger in mammals. One of its functions is in stimulating the immune defense system, said the researchers in their report.
“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,” they wrote.
The rare phosgenite and laurionite are not found in or near Egypt, and ancient texts suggest that they were synthesized as medicines.
To read the research paper, please visit http://pubs.acs.org/doi/full/10.1021/ac902348g
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