Recent Insight into UV-induced Oxidative Stress and Role of Herbal Bioactives in the Management of Skin Aging

Abstract

Skin is a defensive barrier that protects the body against sun rays and other harmful environmental elements. Sun rays contain ultraviolet rays, UVA (320-400 nm) and UVB (280-320 nm), which are highly harmful to the skin, leading to photoaging. Nowadays, sunscreen products are being utilized to protect the skin against photodamage. Conventional sunscreens are useful but cannot provide skin protection against UV rays for a longer period of time. Therefore, they need to be applied frequently. Aromatic compounds (ACs)-based sunscreens may filter out the UV rays but give rise to several side effects, like premature aging, stress, atopic dermatitis, keratinocytes (KCs) damage, genetic interruption, and malignant melanoma due to deposition of their toxic metabolites on the skin. The concept of natural medicines has become popular worldwide because of their safety and efficacy. Natural medicines have been proven to possess a wide array of biological properties, including antioxidant, antityrosinase, antielastase, antiwrinkle, antiaging, anti-inflammatory, anticancer, etc., against sun rays-mediated skin damage. The present review article is focused on UV-induced oxidative stress, and pathological and molecular targets with updates on herbal bioactives for the management of skin aging.