Antioxidants from Plants Protect against Skin Photoaging

Abstract

Exposure to UV light triggers the rapid generation and accumulation of reactive oxygen species (ROS) in skin cells, with consequent increase in oxidative stress and thus in photoaging. Exogenous supplementation with dietary antioxidants and/or skin pretreatment with antioxidant-based lotions before sun exposure might be a winning strategy against age-related skin pathologies. In this context, plants produce many secondary metabolites to protect themselves from UV radiations and these compounds can also protect the skin from photoaging. Phenolic compounds, ascorbic acid and carotenoids, derived from different plant species, are able to protect the skin by preventing UV penetration, reducing inflammation and oxidative stress, and influencing several survival signalling pathways. In this review, we focus our attention on the double role of oxidants in cell metabolism and on environmental and xenobiotic agents involved in skin photoaging. Moreover, we discuss the protective role of dietary antioxidants from fruits and vegetables and report their antiaging properties related to the reduction of oxidative stress pathways.

Antioxidants as stabilizers of UV filters: an example for the UV-B filter octylmethoxycinnamate

“…Thus, the antioxidants neutralize the effects of reactive oxygen species (Sindhi et al 2013) that in a physiological process are produced in cellular metabolism, through a balance between free radicals and antioxidants. When there is an imbalance between these two components, the formation of ROS is favoured, and they may also participate in a pathological process known as oxidative stress (Petruk et al 2018). This process is a set of multiple mechanisms that include protein and lipid alterations, induction of inflammation, immunosuppression, DNA damage, and activation of signalling pathways including gene transcription, cell cycle, proliferation, and apoptosis (Dunaway et al 2018).…”

“…As mentioned above, the exposure to ultraviolet light triggers rapid generate and increased ROS in skin cells, which consequent increase oxidative stress (Addor FASa 2017; Dunaway et al 2018;Petruk et al 2018). When this process occurs, the cell induces the transcription and translation of new enzymes involved in repair process.…”

“…If the cell can neutralize the negative effects of stress injury, it will readapt, and the physiological antioxidants levels will be restored. Otherwise, in cases where stress is excessive or prolonged, the cell will not be able to recover and will undergo a programmed cell death (Petruk et al 2018). This process is schematically illustrated in Fig.…”

“…Sunlight is one of the main harmful exogenous factors that induce the reactive oxygen species (ROS) formation. Infrared energy (above 760 nm), visible light (400-760 nm), and ultraviolet (UV) light (below 400 nm) are included in the sunlight spectrum (Petruk et al 2018). UV radiations can be further divided in UV-C (200-290 nm), UV-B (290-320 nm), and UV-A (320-400 nm), from lowest to highest energy level.…”

Fruit‐based juices: Focus on antioxidant properties—Study approach and update

“…Examples of main compounds of this class are ß‐carotene, lycopene, and lutein (Figure ). These compounds may exert various and relevant pharmacological actions partly via antioxidant mechanisms (Adadi, Barakova, & Krivoshapkina, ; Durazzo et al, ; El‐Baz, Hussein, Mahmoud, & Abdo, ; Monforte et al, ; Müller, Caris‐Veyrat, Lowe, & Böhm, ; Petruk, Del Giudice, Rigano, & Monti, ; Zou, Aboshora, Li, Xiao, & Zhang, ). It is worth mentioning the recent review of Ribeiro, Freitas, Silva, Carvalho, and Fernandes (), on antioxidant and pro‐oxidant activities of carotenoids and their oxidation products.…”