Not only humans, but fish also use sunscreen to stay protected against harmful ultraviolet rays of the sun. To protect skin from ultraviolet rays, humans produce melanin, a dark pigment. As per some reports, a number of creatures that live in the daylight can be damaged by the ultraviolet rays of the sun. To protect from the rays, algae, bacteria and fungi make their own chemicals to soak up the rays.

According to the reports, fish produce a chemical called ‘gadusol’ which is found in fish and their eggs. Scientists at Oregon State University said they have found that zebra fish, a tropical freshwater fish belonging to the minnow family of the order Cypriniformes, produce gadusol to protect from the harmful rays. So fat, scientists think that fish get gadusol by eating algae and bacteria that make it.

While talking on fish that make the chemical, gadusol, Taifo Mahmud, a medicinal chemist at Oregon State's pharmacy school, said, “We know that gadusol has anti-UV properties and sunscreen properties. It is not entirely clear if animals such as zebra fish would make it for reasons other than UV protection.”

According to the scientists, there are possibilities that gadusol is also used by the fish for other purpose. In Zebra fish, which is a popular species for lab work, the antioxidant has been produced in large quantities during the development of embryos.

Mahmud, lead scientist of the new discovery and other members of the team, discovered that the genes zebra fish make are different from the ones that microbes use. The researchers searched the genomes for a number of different animals. They identified gadusol-producing genes. According to them, they didn’t find them in mammals or coelacanths, which is now rare order of fish.