Antioxidants and the skin: Understanding formulation and efficacy

Abstract

Antioxidants are molecules capable of inhibiting the oxidation of other molecules. Although oxidation reactions are essential for life, they can also be damaging. All living organisms maintain complex systems of multiple types of antioxidants to protect their cells from oxidative damage. Antioxidants can also act as pro-oxidants, under certain circumstances. The efficacy and benefit of an antioxidant is, therefore, very much dependent on the delivery of the antioxidant to the organism. Topically applied antioxidants constitute an important group of pharmacologically active agents capable of preventing the occurrence and reducing the severity of UV-induced skin damage and skin aging. Antioxidants protect skin cells against the damaging effects of reactive oxygen species (ROS), such as singlet oxygen, superoxide, peroxyl radicals, hydroxyl radicals, and peroxynitrite. ROS induced oxidative stress in the skin has been linked to cancer, aging, inflammation, and photodamage. This review focuses on antioxidants used in the cosmetic industry for protection of skin, formulation methods used to enhance their efficacy, and methods used to test the efficacy of antioxidants in topical formulations.

Encapsulation of cosmetic active ingredients for topical application – a review

“…The system exhibited an enhanced storage stability and a sustained releasing of vitamin C, and was very helpful in delivering vitamin C molecules into the skin through the stratum corneum, facilitating transdermal penetration of vitamin C in topical application. α-Tocopherol or vitamin E (VE) is widely used as a strong antioxidant in many medical and cosmetic applications, but is rapidly degraded due to its light, heat and oxygen sensitivity (Poljsak et al, 2014;Oresajo et al, 2012). Thus α-tocopherol formulations have to avoid contact with light, heat or air.…”

Is Lack of Sleep Capable of Inducing DNA Damage in Aged Skin?

“…This effect is especially marked in aged women, which have much more skin atrophy, because it is directly related to decreased sex hormone levels [3]. The aged skin loses the ability of repairing the oxidative effects of free radicals, leading to DNA and cell damage [4]. …”

Protective effects of Scutellaria baicalensis Georgi against hydrogen peroxide-induced DNA damage and apoptosis in HaCaT human skin keratinocytes

“…The extremely elevated levels of ROS can destroy cytoprotective defense mechanisms by the neutralizing of antioxidants, leading to the acceleration of skin aging and development of various skin diseases (Kammeyer and Luiten, 2015[21]; Karran and Brem, 2016[22]). Therefore, prevention of ROS accumulation with antioxidant agents is often regarded as a possible strategy for the management of such oxidative damage in the skin (Oresajo et al, 2012[36]; Tundis et al, 2015[45]). The generation of excess ROS can irreversibly cause a range of base modification and DNA strand breaks, resulting in DNA damage (Birch-Machin et al, 2013[2]; Katiyar, 2016[24]).…”