Table 1.
Exogenous antioxidants with photoprotective or damage protective effects.
Antioxidants | Outcome of the study | Study |
---|---|---|
Ascorbic acid | Topical vitamin C 5% cream applied for six months led to clinical improvement in the appearance of photoaged skin | |
Topical vitamin C stimulates the collagen-producing activity of the dermis | ||
Magnesium ascorbyl phosphate administration immediately after exposure in hairless mice significantly delayed skin tumor formation and hyperplasia induced by chronic exposure to UV radiation | Elmore, 2005 [51] | |
Ascorbic acid was a photoprotectant when applied to mice and pig skin before exposure to ultraviolet (UV) radiation | Elmore, 2005 [51] | |
| ||
Vitamin E | UV-induced vitamin E depletion | Packer and Valacchi, 2002 [52] |
The interaction of vitamin E with the eicosanoid system may result in an anti-inflammatory effect and thereby complement the photoprotective effects of other antioxidants in the skin | Boelsma et al., 2001 [53] | |
Vitamin E has skin barrier-stabilizing properties | Packer et al., 2001 [54] | |
| ||
Lycopene | UV light decreased skin lycopene concentrations more so than skin β-carotene concentrations | Ribaya-Mercadoet al., 1995 [55] |
Lycopene protects against UV-induced erythema in humans | ||
| ||
Carotenoids (carotene, β-carotene, and carotenoid mix) | Carotenoids are efficient in photoprotection, scavenging singlet oxygen, and peroxyl radicals. Supplements or a carotenoid-rich diet decreased sensitivity against UV-induced erythema | Sies and Stahl, 2004 [56] |
Supplementation with carotenoids contributes to basal protection of the skin but is not sufficient to obtain complete protection against severe UV irradiation | Stahl and Krutmann, 2006 [57] | |
Dietary beta-carotene has effect on wrinkles and elasticity, procollagen gene expression, and ultraviolet (UV)-induced DNA damage in human skin | Cho et al., 2010 [58] | |
Erythema-protective effect of a carotenoid mix inhibited serum lipid peroxidation | Heinrich et al., 1998 [59] Heinrich et al., 2003 [60] Lee et al., 2000 [61] |
|
Presupplementation with β-carotene before and during sunlight exposure provides protection against sunburn | Gollnick et al., 1996 [62] | |
Inhibition of UV-induced epidermal damage and tumor formation in mouse models | Mathews-Roth and Krinsky, 1987 [63] | |
| ||
Tretinoin | Topical tretinoin ameliorates the clinical signs of photoaging | Cordero, 1983 [64] Kligman et al., 1986 [65] |
The treatment of photodamaged skin with tretinoin increased collagen I formation. | Griffiths et al., 1993 [66] | |
Topical tretinoin is safe and effective in the treatment of photodamage | Gilchrest, 1997 [67] | |
Improvement in photodamaged skin | Weinstein et al., 1991 [68] | |
Topical tretinoin reduced the effects of photoaging | Voorhees, 1990 [69] | |
Topical tretinoin in combination with sun protection as a useful approach to the treatment of sun-damaged skin | Leyden, 1998 [70] | |
| ||
Coenzyme Q10 (CoQ10) | Topical application of CoQ10 has the beneficial effect of preventing photoaging | Hoppe et al., 1999 [71] |
Coenzyme Q10 protects against oxidative stress-induced cell death and enhances the synthesis of basement membrane components in dermal and epidermal cells | Muta-Takada et al., 2009 [72] | |
CoQ10 was shown to reduce UVA-induced MMPs in cultured human dermal fibroblasts | Inui et al., 2008 [73] | |
| ||
Glutathione | Glutathione is a photoprotective agent in skin cells | Connor and Wheeler, 1987 [74] |
| ||
Zinc | Zn-treated fibroblasts were more resistant to UVR than cells grown in normal medium | Richard et al., 1993 [75] |
Zn can positively influence the effects of oxidative stress on cultured human retinal pigment epithelial (RPE) cells | Tate et al., 1999 [76] | |
| ||
Resveratrol | Application of resveratrol to the skin of hairless mice effectively prevented the UVB-induced increase in skin thickness and the development of the skin edema | Afaq and Mukhtar, 2002 [77] |
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Green tea | Green tea polyphenols were shown to reduce UV light-induced oxidative stress and immunosuppression | Katiyar et al., 2000 [78] |
Topical treatment or oral consumption of green tea polyphenols (GTP) inhibits chemical carcinogen- or UV radiation-induced skin carcinogenesis in different laboratory animal models | Katiyar, 2003 [79] | |
| ||
Green tea or caffeine | Oral administration of green tea or caffeine in amounts equivalent to three or five cups of coffee per day to UVB-exposed mice increased levels of p53, slowed cell cycling, and increased apoptotic sun burn cells in the epidermis | Lu et al., 2008 [80] |
| ||
Sylimarin | Silymarin strongly prevents both photocarcinogenesis and skin tumor promotion in mice | Singh and Agarwal, 2002 [81] |
Skin cancer chemopreventive effects | Ahmad et al., 1998 [82] | |
| ||
Genistein | Antioxidant and anticarcinogenic effects on skin | Wei et al., 1995 [83] |
| ||
Cocoa | Dietary flavanols from cocoa contribute to endogenous photoprotection, improve dermal blood circulation, and affect cosmetically relevant skin surface and hydration variables | Heinrich et al., 2006 [84] |
Photoprotection against UV-induced erythema | Heinrich et al., 2006 [84] |