Cleopatra's eye make-up helped protect her from disease
Cleopatra's heavy eye make-up was not just for looks – it also protected her from disease, according to new research.
根據新的研究，埃及艷後的眼部濃妝不只是為外觀，它亦保護她免於疾病。
By Richard Alleyne, Science Correspondent
Published: 3:55PM GMT 08 Jan 2010
Elizabeth Taylor as Cleopatra Photo: 20th Century Fox/Getty 伊麗莎白泰萊演埃及妖后照片：20世紀霍士/蓋蒂
Researchers now believe that Egyptians applied the eyeliner 4,000 years ago in order to ward off infections.
Lead salts in the make-up helped to protect against eye disease, the French study claims.
The "smokey eyes" look favoured by ancient Egyptians such as Cleopatra is one of the most enduring in fashion.
But the researchers at the Louvre museum in Paris believe it was originally for medical reasons as much as aesthetics.
Their study, published in the journal Analytical Chemistry, suggests it helped to protect against eye disease.
The key appears to be lead salts contained in the make-up.
At very low levels, salts produce nitric oxide, which boosts the immune system to fight off bacteria which can cause eye infection.
The make-up used by the ancient Egyptians to darken and enhance the eyes sometimes took up to a month to concoct.
In theory, because it contained lead it might actually have posed a risk to health.
But an analysis by scientists led by Philippe Walter showed that at low doses it had a protective effect.
He said: "We knew ancients Greeks and Romans too had noted the make-up had medicinal properties, but wanted to determine exactly how."
The researchers used a tiny electrode, a 10th of the thickness of a human hair, to look at the effect of lead chloride salt synthesised by the Egyptians – laurionite – on a single cell.
"In stimulating non-specific immunological defences, 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 said.
It is also thought that Galena, the natural mineral form of lead sulphite, was used as eye make up known as kohl and possesses antiseptic and fly-deterrent properties as well as protecting the eyes from intense sun.
http://www.telegraph.co.uk/science/science-news/6952195/Cleopatras-eye-make-up-helped-protect-her-from-disease.html
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